Konoha's Phantom
by FaeBean
Summary: Danny Fenton wasn't able to save his family after the events of TUE. Clockwork, wanting to help the boy, gives Danny a new start in a whole new world. However, things don't go the way our hero wants them to—especially after he meets a certain orange ninja. This is my first fanfiction, so please be nice! Constructive criticism is always welcome, but flames are not, please!
1. Chapter 1: Alone

Hi everyone! I've been a big fan of Danny Phantom ever since the series premiered, and this is the first of a few crossovers I wanted to do with everyone's favorite half-ghost. To be honest, I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to finish this story, since other responsibilities can take up a lot of my time. But I will try my best! If I do end the story, it would be after the Chuunin Exam Arc. Enjoy!

As a note, Dani Phantom does not exist in this universe.

* * *

Chapter 1: Alone

It has been two weeks. Two weeks without them. Two weeks since he lost sense of everything.

Well…that wasn't entirely true. He was able to come out of his self-induced daze a little after the first week—after Vlad tried to visit him. But that didn't make the acceptance any less painful; if anything, the awareness made it worse. Everything was frighteningly clear, all the blurry memories sharpening with crystal accuracy. Slowly, they began to scar what was left of Daniel Fenton's heart as he sat on the hospital bed, benumbed.

In short, he failed them. This was the only coherent thought he had in his mind since that day, when he watched the tongues of hellfire consume his family and two best friends as he sat on the hot pavement. The deep, agonizing burn he felt was not from the stray flames licking his body, or the hot gravel meeting his open wounds, but from the impact of his entire being shattering. He would never again see their faces, never again hear their voices, so full of love and warmth; the ties that were taken from him would forever scar his heart.

Of course, while time seemed to stop for Danny Fenton, it was as hectic as ever around him. Nobody knew what to do with the last surviving Fenton, and nobody knew what to make of the sudden murder of Amity Park's most eccentric family. When the police questioned Danny on the explosion—or more specifically, who caused it—Danny shut down and felt his entire body being crushed from the force of his guilt. He only managed to state that the murderer was not human, that it was a vengeful ghost that had a long history with his family, and that it died along with the others during the explosion. They didn't need to know that the ghost was him—his future self.

Immediately after the tragedy, Clockwork visited the halfa. His face was calm, but his eyes didn't betray the shame and grief that he felt. He attempted to speak with Danny, try to apologize and offer his condolences, but anything said went unheard by the hybrid; the teen was in his own world, his usually crystalline blue eyes clouded over and receptive to nothing. Clockwork gave a sigh and then took the metallic thermos from under the boy's pillow; he met no resistance doing so.

Danny hadn't seen Clockwork since. Or maybe he did, but wasn't aware of it. In all honesty, Danny was waiting for when the Time Ghost would return to capture him and make sure that his evil future would never see the light of day.

But that wasn't necessary. Danny's face hardened in resolve. That monster took about everything he ever cared about, the people he loved with all his heart. He saw their eyes, filled with emotions: fear…sadness…confusion…but above all, faith. Faith that he would never turn his back on them when they were gone, faith that he would keep his last promise to them…he wasn't going to let them down again. Even when confronting the face of his evil self, they never wavered in their faith for their son and best friend. Remembering their last convictions, Danny resolved that he wasn't going to let them die in vain.

So, it was no surprise that Danny refused the guardianship and presence of Vladimir Masters. He knew the billionaire was probably foaming at the mouth for that, but he didn't care. Danny didn't know if he could ever forgive the fruitloop for what he did to him and his family in the past. Still, he couldn't suppress the small hope that if Vlad knew about the entire situation, the billionaire would understand. Vlad was probably hurting as much as Danny was, even if it was only for the death of his lost love. It was wishful thinking, but Danny hoped that the fruitloop was respecting his need to come to terms with what happened.

The raven-haired knew that he would have to face Vlad sooner or later, but right now that was the last thing on his mind. He was miserable, and it didn't help that every look he received was one of pity and sympathy. Doctors, police, classmates, neighbors…they all gave him the same response—the look that reminded him of his failure. Danny knew that they were only showing their concern in their own respectable way, but he couldn't suppress the anger that constantly surfaced.

It was so unfair, all of it; it didn't look like he would ever escape. Sitting alone in the hospital room, the realization slowly weighed down on him like a ton of bricks. He was completely and utterly alone. Letting the thought sink in, he lay down on the white sheets, and for the first time since he lost his family, he shed tears. And he didn't stop until well into the night.

* * *

Time is something perceived uniquely by different beings. For example, a second to a human being might feel like an hour to a honeybee, or maybe a millisecond to a tortoise. For the Master of Time, however, he learned that worrying over time's duration was pointless. The only thing that mattered was _flow_.

It was his job to make sure that the flow of time remained consistent and unbroken. He's seen disasters through the wake of history, and events that he would have otherwise intervened in for the sake of those affected, but he could only sit and watch as events unfolded before him, unable to do anything. He knew that it was for the sake of preserving the flow of time; the Observants made sure that they drilled this into his head completely. He knew that he would always see horrible things that would make him angry, that would make him want to quit.

And right now, he _really_ wanted to quit.

He was forced to standby while a fourteen-year-old, a kid—a _hero_—lost his only family. Of course, the Observants would beg to differ on whether Daniel Fenton was really a hero, but Clockwork knew that those fools were constantly blinded by their paranoia and rationale.

He knew that the kid had a good heart; even now, as he kept watch over the grieving teen, he could see the fierce determination the hybrid possessed. It made Clockwork's blood—or ectoplasm—boil at the fact that his overseers forbade him from saving the young hero's family or altering the time stream in any way. He knew their arguments were sound, but he still couldn't quell the frustration he felt towards his overseers.

The kid really tried to change his future…but in the end it wasn't meant to be.

The Observants were satisfied that Dan Phantom was captured and detained, but that still didn't resolve the issue of what would become of Daniel Fenton. In all versions of the timeline, Clockwork knew that the teen had a rough road ahead of him.

However, some paths showed to be more helpful than others. And so it was here that Clockwork would help the boy. He couldn't save the hybrid's family or change their fates, but he could set the teen on the right path. And one of these paths offered the best way to do it.

Granted, of course, that Daniel Fenton would accept.

* * *

The loud creak echoed throughout the entryway and kitchen; the hinges were in need of maintenance. His feet shuffled through the carpeted floor, and he noticed the difference in the atmosphere. The only word that came to mind was hollow.

It's been sixteen weeks since the disaster, and Danny Fenton could only describe himself as getting by. He was learning to accept his loss, albeit very slowly, with some help from the hospital. In the end, Danny found that his sessions helped him get back on his feet and take the first few steps of recovery. However, it was a painful process; it took two months for Danny to open up to others. And he wasn't sure if he would ever get rid of the painful weight that continued to burden his chest.

The weight expanded as he made his way through the vacant house, the feelings of sorrow and guilt bombarding him. It had taken him forever to convince the hospital to let him go back home, at least for the night, and in the end they allowed him to stay the night by himself to respect his privacy. Though right now he was starting to regret it.

Steeling his nerves, he stubbornly fought back the tears that threatened to resurface. He slowly wandered through the kitchen, the living room, the bedrooms, and finally the basement.

The basement, unlike the rest of the house, didn't feel that much different since his absence. Danny figured this was due to the already-numbing effect that ectoplasmic energy gave to others. Walking towards the portal, he input the passcode and watched as the steel doors retracted, letting the swirling green abyss illuminate his front. He allowed the numbness to wash over his chaotic emotions, giving the hybrid a substantial amount of peace. Closing his eyes, he continued to bask in the neon green light, not noticing the purple-clad figure emerge from the green abyss.

* * *

Just a few things I forgot to mention:

This story will be updated on a weekly basis for every five chapters (that means I'll upload a chapter for five weeks, then take a pause to write another five chapters and repeat.) Also, the dialogue featured in the story will be a mixture of the English and Japanese dubs. I think both versions have its own good points in dialogue. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2: A Second Chance

Eeyyy what the hell, I'll post another chapter this week. Then I'll post on a weekly basis. ^^

* * *

Chapter 2: A Second Chance

Danny felt his chest expand with cold vapor, feeling something it hadn't for four months: his Ghost Sense. Opening his eyes, Danny saw the very ghost he's been dreading of seeing—Clockwork.

Getting over his alarm, the hybrid immediately acquired a defensive stance and in what seemed like forever he allowed the rings of cold energy to spread over, transforming him into Danny Phantom. The transformation startled him a bit; he kept his ghost form dormant for so long that the feeling felt foreign to him. But he made sure that this didn't show—not to the ghost that was about to take him away.

He flashed his eyes menacingly. "What the hell do you want?" he hissed through gritted teeth. The Time Ghost, his appearance having manifested to that of an infant, didn't seem affected by the teen's hostility. He raised his hand in a surrendering gesture.

"Calm down, Daniel. I do not wish for any harm to come between us," he explained. Clockwork hoped the teen discerned his sincerity.

He didn't. "That makes one of us," Danny growled, the echoes of his voice reverberating throughout the lab. "Why are you here? To rub it in how I failed? To take me away? To kill me?"

Clockwork, now a young man, continued his solemn composure. He needed to get the hybrid to see that he meant no harm. "No," he said firmly. "That's not necessary, I've already captured the you that I need. He is still in the thermos in my tower, placed under the most secure measures imaginable in the Ghost Zone. I came to talk to you."

Danny gave a sharp laugh, not bothering to mitigate his aggression. "Yeah, to rub it in, right? To say that I didn't have a chance, that I was doomed from the start?" His radioactive green eyes hardened. "Well, don't bother. I know I failed, I know I couldn't change their fate."

He paused, a lump in his throat forming at the surge of emotions he desperately tried to suppress. "B-but even so…they still trusted me. E-even though it was my stupid mistakes and selfishness that got them killed, they still believed that I wouldn't let them down by turning into—into _him_," he spat the last word out venomously.

Danny took a few rough breaths, trying to calm his trembling frame. He felt wet trails down his face; he didn't even realize when he started crying. But he continued, "I know that you want to protect the world. I know that there's still a chance that I could turn into _that_…And I'm not going to argue with you. If the only way is to take me away, I'll go…but just don't kill me." He swallowed, and the lump in his throat ached painfully. "I don't want their deaths to be for _nothing_."

The silence, save for the halfa's harsh breathing, seemed to stretch on forever. The green light from the portal pulsed rhythmically, casting dismal shadows throughout the contents of the lab. When Danny looked up at the Time Ghost, his eyes widened when he discovered the expression of immense shame that filled every crevice on the now-elderly face. Clockwork continued looking down, speaking softly.

"I am sorry for what happened…I really am," he confessed, looking up at the hybrid. "I know that I had the power to stop it, to change the course of time. But please…Believe me when I say that if I could, I would have saved their lives, I would have changed the course of events."

Danny continued to look at the ghost silently. "Why didn't you?" he whispered.

The older ghost's expression only grew sadder as he replied, "Any interference would have jeopardized the flow of time and space itself.

"Despite what you may think, I do not have free rein over my power. Even the Master of Time has limits…or bosses, you may say. Going beyond that, I must adhere to the laws of time, the most important one being to preserve its flow." He looked up at the teen, eyes filled with sorrow. "If I had altered your course of events in any way, it would have resulted in eventual chaos. Not just for you, but the world."

Danny was completely quiet, his body feeling light as he grew disconnected from the scene. The world would have ended up in chaos if his family were saved? He hated to admit it, but the reasoning was sound. He understood why the Time Ghost had no choice…but that didn't dissipate his anger. If anything, he grew more furious. He knew it was selfish, but he was infuriated by the unfairness of it all. Why did he have to be the one to suffer for the world's happiness?

Clockwork saw the signs of rage on the teen's face, and immediately knew what he was thinking. "I understand you feel angry, and you have a right to be. It is a great injustice." The older ghost frowned. "Believe me…I felt the same way when I found out I couldn't do anything. But keep in mind that if you had your way, your family, along with yourself, would have all perished eventually. That much is certain."

The teen's eyes lost some of their anger, replaced by the most painful expression Clockwork had ever seen. The Time Ghost sighed sadly, and risked laying a gentle hand on Danny's shoulder. The hybrid tensed, but didn't move.

"I know that you miss them, I know that you can never fill the void that they left." He paused. "I never knew them, but I could tell that they wouldn't want to have you die with them."

Danny raised his head. Wet tears traveled from his grief-stricken eyes.

"You were their son and best friend, Danny. If presented with the choice of keeping their boy alive in exchange for their own existence…They loved you that much that they would sacrifice themselves for you. You must live on—not just to keep your promise to them, but because they live through you."

The teen let his head drop, his entire frame trembling as the tears continued to flow, spilling onto cold metal; Clockwork continued to hold on to him. It was unknown how much time had passed while they remained motionless. Eventually, Danny calmed down, and Clockwork brought up two chairs for them to sit on. After a few minutes of regaining his composure, Danny looked up at the Time Ghost with a weary expression.

"You didn't answer my question…Why are you here?" he whispered hoarsely. The Master of Time gave a gentle smile.

"I've come to give you a chance at a new life," he replied.

Danny tilted his head, he wasn't expecting that. "A…new life?" he asked warily.

Clockwork nodded and proceeded to ask, "Have you ever heard of the theory of multiple dimensions?" Danny gave him a look.

"As in, alternate universes, multiverses, and alien dimensions? I thought that stuff was for sci-fi."

Clockwork laughed lightly. "Yes, while the theory is rather popular in most mainstream forms of entertainment, I can assure you that it is true." The hybrid didn't say anything, but his eyes didn't betray the immense curiosity that now overflowed him.

"You can start a new life in one of these worlds. I can give you access to the one I picked for you. It's a chance to begin fresh, to live in a new home, and to live among people that won't ask questions." He smiled. "You said it yourself: everybody deserves a second chance."

Danny gave him a skeptical look. "Why didn't you let me choose which world I go to?"

Clockwork nodded his head in understanding. "I picked it because it had the best chances of leading you to a fulfilling future. I would know, since I am the Master of Time," he admonished. Danny flushed a light green, and mumbled a quick apology.

Clockwork's face grew serious again. "There is a catch, however."

Danny grunted in annoyance. "When isn't there?"

Clockwork ignored the teen's comment. "In order to transport you to this world, I need to perform some kind of formula. A Time Seal."

Danny got a confused look. "A Time Seal?" he asked.

"It's a type of spell I perform in order to send someone to a different dimension. It works similarly to the way you pay for a ticket: you must give something in exchange for entry."

The teen immediately grew suspicious, not liking where this was going. "What do we have to give?" he asked. Clockwork's eyebrows furrowed.

"It's something _you_ have to give," he corrected.

Danny's face grew reproachful. He didn't want to give up his ghost powers if he was going to a new world he knew nothing about, he'd need them if he got into any trouble.

"Isn't there anything else I can give?" he argued. "I mean, I'm going to a place I've never been in before. What if there's ghosts, or things I've never fought before?"

Clockwork chuckled. "Daniel, I must warn you that it would do you no good to make hasty assumptions. The Time Seal does not accept anything other than units of time. The amount depends on the world you are transporting to."

Danny gave him a look, not getting it. "'Units of time'? What do you mean by that?"

Clockwork bit his lip, knowing the teen wouldn't like the answer. "It means that you would have to give time that you yourself have accumulated. In this case, it would be your age," he explained hesitantly. Danny gave him a glare, as if daring him to go on.

"How much?"

"…Three years."

As expected, the answer came as a bombshell to the young hybrid.

"_Three years?!_" he exclaimed in shock, "Are you _serious?!_"

Clockwork gave him a frown. "I know it isn't ideal, but for something of this magnitude, the amount is necessary to be granted access."

"I get that! If it was six months or a year I'd be okay with it, but _three years!?_ I'll be turned into a kid!"

Clockwork gave the teen a sympathetic look. "Is it really that much to sacrifice for a second chance?"

Danny grew silent at that, and further contemplated the offer. On the one hand, a new start—where nobody would ask questions or constantly shoot him looks of pity—sounded great, but the reduction of his age and the unfamiliarity of this new world was not appealing. On the other hand, if he stayed in Amity Park, he would be with people he knew, in a world he grew up in. He'd continue to live in his house, in a life where everything was the same…

No, it wouldn't be the same anymore, not after what happened. Everyday he would live through constant reminders of what he lost, of his failure. He would have to shoulder even more pain than if he just went to another world. Plus, if he didn't stay…it would be an even greater measure to make sure Dan didn't happen.

That alone was enough to solidify his decision. "Alright," he agreed.

Clockwork frowned at his quick answer. "Daniel, keep in mind that you're not being forced—"

"No," Danny assured, wanting to make himself clear. "I'm not too crazy about the whole age thing, or the whole 'alternate dimension' idea…but it's not like I'll be able to live the way I used to if I stay here. I'd rather go somewhere where I'm not constantly being treated like a pity case." He paused. "Besides…you said it would turn out better for me there."

Clockwork nodded. "I did."

A new thought occurred to Danny. "What about the ghosts? Won't they go crazy with me gone?"

"As the Master of Time, I have significant authority over certain parts of the Ghost Realm. I will talk to the other inhabitants of the Zone about not interfering in Amity Park anymore. When you leave, I will destroy the portal to prevent anyone from breaking out." Clockwork paused in thought. "If you want, I can destroy all of your parents weapons and research, and give you the blueprints after I finish."

Danny thought it over. "Thanks, but I don't want to completely destroy their work. I want to give Valerie a few weapons in case any ghosts do manage to come back. Also, keep the blueprints. I don't want that information falling into the wrong hands."

"Very well, I'll let you know when I finish."

Danny tensed, his face troubled. "Do we have to go now? I want to take care of a few things before I leave," he said. He didn't want to leave his remaining friends without saying goodbye.

Clockwork gave a weary sigh. "Of course you can. I need a week to fully prepare the seal anyway." The ghost stood (or floated) up, and began to make his way to the portal. He stopped just before entering, then turned to address Danny again.

"Please take care of everything until then. I will stop by occasionally to give you further information about the dimension. And Danny," here Clockwork's face turned grave, "I would suggest saving Vlad for last."

Danny didn't give any response to that, only answering with a serious nod. Clockwork gave him a smile.

"See you in a week, and good luck." With that he entered the green abyss, leaving the halfa alone in the laboratory.

Danny relaxed, allowing all the past tension to leave his body. He began feeling detached again as he reprocessed everything that had just happened. He didn't know if it was the smart, or the right, choice. But Clockwork was right.

Everyone deserves a second chance.

* * *

Feel free to review.


	3. Chapter 3: Goodbyes

Third chapter! Quite frankly, I think it feels kind of rushed, but I had to cut out a few parts so that I can get to the main storyline faster.

* * *

Chapter 3: Goodbyes

Saying goodbye was not easy. Danny first visited the Foley family to tell them of his plans to "leave the city". The Foleys were very understanding, and the hybrid's heart swelled with affection. Despite losing their only son, they didn't hold Danny or his family responsible. They understood that Danny was the one who suffered the most from the tragedy, and they bid him their condolences, with Mrs. Foley giving a warm hug in goodbye.

Danny wished it went the same way with the Mansons. He tried to visit Sam's family, to express his sorrows and plans for leaving, but there was no response. Even his calls went unanswered; it seemed that they just wanted to ignore his existence completely. Danny understood, though his heart still felt heavy at the complete rejection.

He never took the time to reflect on the weird feelings that surfaced whenever he spent time with Sam, such as the way his heart would grow whenever he saw her eyes glow…her smile chase away his anxieties…It was only when she left that the halfa realized why.

He loved her.

Thinking back on the way Sam nagged and expressed concern about him, the way her eyes overflowed with deep warmth, he realized with a guilty pang that she had loved him too. But unlike him, she wasn't as oblivious; she realized it much sooner than he did. His heart ached painfully at the fact that he never got to reciprocate her feelings, never got to tell her that he felt the same way for her.

Danny gave a sad sigh as he approached the apartment door with a black duffle back slung over his shoulder. He gave a few quick knocks and waited patiently, trying his best to clear his mind of Sam. As the door opened, he was met with stunned turquoise eyes.

"Danny? Oh my God…Where have you been?" A few tears threatened to fall from Valerie's face as she enveloped her classmate in a heartfelt hug. "I'm so sorry…I mean, for not visiting you—No, I'm sorry for what happened, too—!" Danny held a hand up, stopping the stream of broken sentences.

"Valerie, it's okay. I'm not mad," he assured, smiling sadly. Seeing the doubtful look on her face, he said, "Really, I'm not."

Valerie's face softened, her eyes filled with sorrow. "I'm really sorry," she whispered, her eyes beginning to shine. "Both my dad and I…we both feel awful for not being able to do anything…" To her surprise, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

Danny's eyes were hard. "Valerie, don't. There was nothing you could have done, it wasn't your fault," he said. Valerie responded with an angry scowl.

"No, there was. I couldn't stop that ghost and Phantom. And now your family…" she trailed off, not wanting to say too much. She was surprised when she heard a sad laugh.

"You blame Phantom?"

Valerie gave him a confused look, which turned serious. "Of course I do. He was fighting that ghost, and he ended up getting everyone killed—" she stopped when she saw the huge bout of pain that flashed across the taller teen's face. His crystalline blue eyes shone briefly but hardened as he looked at her.

"That's true, he couldn't save my family…But he wasn't the one that tied them to that boiler. It was that other ghost that wanted to kill my family. Phantom _did not_ want my family dead."

Valerie's words caught in her throat, but she forced them out. "Danny, Phantom's a ghost. He's—"

"Evil? Because he ruined your life? Yeah, I know. That's why you hunt him as the Red Huntress."

Valerie felt the ground give out from under her feet. He knew?

Danny sighed. "Yeah, I've known since the whole Pariah Dark incident. It's also the reason why I want to give you this." He slung the dark bag off his shoulder and unzipped it to reveal the ecto-weapons inside. Valerie's eyes widened, confusion dominating her countenance.

"Why are you giving me these?"

"Because I'm shutting down the portal."

Valerie looked at him in alarm. "What?"

Danny looked at her seriously. "I'm leaving Amity Park. I'm going to shut down the portal so no more ghosts can come out, but I'm giving you these in case a few ghosts do manage to get out." He gave her a trusting smile. "I know you can do it."

Valerie felt like crying, her head spinning. He was leaving her? She looked at him, tears pooling around her eyes. "You're…leaving? Please, are you sure you can't—?"

Danny shook his head in finality. "No, there are too many painful memories here. They only remind me of what happened." He swallowed, then lifted his mouth a little. "I just didn't want to leave without saying goodbye."

Feeling the tears spill out, the Huntress wrapped her arms around the raven-haired, making sure to remember everything. "Please take care of yourself," she whispered. "I'll watch after Amity Park for you."

Danny smiled warmly as he returned the hug. "Thank you. Take care of yourself, too, Val."

* * *

It was eight o'clock. The sky had darkened a while ago, and he was now standing in front of the enormous mansion. Today was the day Clockwork was picking him up, the day he was leaving everything behind. As the Time Master advised, Danny left Vlad to be the very last person he would visit. He wasn't particularly happy that the billionaire's face would be the last one he would see in his world, but he was sure Clockwork had his reasons. Steeling himself, he turned intangible and flew into the mansion, seeking out the older halfa.

He didn't need to look far. He found Vlad in his study, sitting sideways in an armchair in the far corner of the dark room. Vlad looked like he had seen better days; there were dark circles delineating his eyes, a gray, scratchy beard covering the lower half of his face, and his hair—still in a ponytail—was disheveled. What stood out the most, though, was the look of absence and despair on the billionaire's face. He didn't look at Danny.

"Looks like you finally decided to see me, Daniel."

Danny's eyes narrowed, dropping his feet to the carpeted floor with a soft thump. Vlad may look weakened, but Danny wasn't about to lower his guard. He needed to do this. "Well, as you can imagine, I had some things I needed to work out," he replied. Vlad turned his head ever so slightly to face the younger halfa, and Danny saw the steely blue eyes filled with loneliness and…regret?

Vlad continued to stare, whispering, "How are you doing?"

Danny glared angrily. "What does it matter to you?"

This was the wrong thing to say. Almost immediately Vlad gained a livid look. "You idiot!" he yelled, jumping up, causing Danny to immediately tense up. "Do you honestly think I haven't been affected by what has happened?! I lost my two best friends in that explosion, and now when their only living child has come to see me after four months? _Of course it matters!_"

Danny stood there, his shock having immobilized him, but his rage allowed him to recover. "Best friends? That's a freaking laugh. All you ever wanted to do was kill the man that my mother truly loved and take me away for your own convenience! _What kind of a best friend is that?!_" he screamed, eyes glowing with rage.

Now it was Vlad's turn to stand stunned. He slowly lowered himself back into the chair, his body crushed with the weight of remorse. "The worst kind," he said, eyes laden with sorrow. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have expected you to visit me after all the misery I caused you, Maddie, Jack, and Jasmine."

Danny's eyes stopped glowing, but his expression remained the same. He looked at the billionaire for a bit. "I've come to tell you that I'm leaving. I'm not coming back to Amity Park."

The billionaire's eyes widened.

"Daniel, you can't leave."

"My mind is made up. There's nothing left for me in Amity Park."

"That's not true! You can stay with me, I can help you—"

"Vlad," Danny cut him off with a sad look. "I know what I said, and I know what I'm doing. I need to do this."

Vlad's face hardened immediately. He wasn't going to give up so easily. "No, I'm not letting the son of my two best friends go off on his own! I've already failed them once, I'm not going to do it again."

Danny was taken aback; those were the exact same words he vowed to himself. His face softened, and he spoke in a sympathetic tone that surprised himself.

"Vlad, I know how you're feeling. Trust me, I felt hopeless too when I realized that I failed them," his eyes narrowed in resolve, "But it's because I don't want to fail them again that I have to leave Amity Park. For once, think about what I want."

A silence stretched between the two of them, with Danny lost in thought. Even after everything the man put him through, he didn't know that he harbored such empathy for the affluent man. Looking at the broken man in front of him, he saw what Vlad really was: a misguided man.

Steel blue eyes met ice blue ones.

"…Will you return?"

"No," was the firm reply.

Another silence. "Alright then." Vlad gave one final look of remorse to the younger halfa; it was probably the sincerest look Danny ever saw on the older man's face. "I really am sorry. You might not believe me…but I miss the both of them, including Jack. I've only realized too late what a fool I've been these past few years."

Danny's face filled with grief; it hurt to hear the same words that the billionaire uttered during his visit to the future.

"…Yeah, we all realized things too late."

With this, the younger hybrid turned and flew out of the mansion, leaving the older halfa to his lonesome and thoughts.

He wasn't happy; he didn't want to leave their son off on his own…he was only fourteen, a kid. But…he had a point. As far back as he could remember, he only ended up thinking about himself. If Daniel ever came back to Amity Park, he would be here for him.

"Take care…Danny."

* * *

The time has come. After returning to his house, he found Clockwork waiting for him down in the basement. Danny had finished gathering his things—the bare necessities that he didn't want to part with—and followed the Time Ghost through the Ghost Zone until they reached his tower. Danny vividly remembered Clockwork's domain; it was hard to forget that the place was made almost entirely of gears and clocks, filling the dwelling with constant ticking and clicks. Approaching one of the time portals, he saw it shift from the dull gray of Amity Park to a lush, green forest that seemed to stretch for miles. Danny turned to Clockwork with a look of surprise.

"Is that it?"

Clockwork nodded. "Yes, that is where you will be staying.

"Now, before you leave, I need to debrief you on a few more basics. To begin with, the world you are about to enter is filled with ninjas, or shinobi as they are referred to."

Danny gave him a deadpan in disbelief. "Don't get me wrong, that's pretty…awesome, but I thought the whole reason I was leaving was to live a normal life."

"There will always be violence wherever you go, Daniel. I've yet to encounter a utopia," Clockwork said. "But moving on…

"The shinobi act as the line of defense for the various villages in this world. The one I am sending you to is called Konohagakure, or the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And as for these ninja, they are not like the ones you are familiar with. They are able to use a physical and spiritual energy within themselves called _chakra_ to perform the mystical arts of a ninja, or _jutsu_."

Pausing to make sure Danny was paying attention, he added, "You don't know this, but people in our own world have chakra too. It is in very scant amounts and for the most part inactive, however. When you enter this world, your own chakra will emerge from its dormant state. Also…" He scratched his head awkwardly, hesitating with the words. "…You might want to…request some help to learn the language."

Danny gave him an annoyed look. "Are you serious? What language do they use?"

Clockwork bit his lip. "Er, Japanese. Don't worry, all you need to do is learn how to read and write. As soon as you enter this world, you'll be able to understand and communicate verbally. I'm sure you can do it, you're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for," he hastily added, seeing the venomous look the teen was giving him. "When you arrive in the village, you will be brought to the Hokage, or the village leader. There, you will tell him the story we fabricated."

Danny's face relaxed, and a contemplative frown grew on his face. "What if this isn't the best choice? Can I come back?" Clockwork gave him an understanding smile.

"I knew you would ask. That's why I'm giving you one free pass to return to Amity Park, in case it doesn't work out. But Daniel," he frowned seriously, "I implore you to give it a chance—a real chance. Give it time before you make such a serious decision."

Danny sighed. "Alright, I'll give it a shot." He gave Clockwork a sad look. "Will I see you again?"

Clockwork gave a warm smile. "Yes, I will check up on you from time to time and let you know how things are here."

With that, the Time Master raised his staff and began muttering a few incantations. A cycle of symbols appeared around the portal, glowing a contrasting orange against the eerie blues of Clockwork's tower. Deducing this as the Time Seal, Danny stepped forward, preparing to enter the portal. He turned to the Time Master.

"Thank you, for everything."

Clockwork smiled warmly in farewell. "Take care, Daniel."

And with that, the raven-haired stepped through the gateway. He was instantly surrounded by the giant forest, the sounds of energetic wildlife emanating throughout the trees.

* * *

Danny swore profanities as he continued to trek through the thick terrain, constantly tripping over the roots of the massive trees that surrounded him. Clockwork had told him that his new home would be pretty heavy on the nature side, but he didn't think it would be up to this caliber—he was pretty sure that on his way, he saw a centipede the size of a bus crawling by.

Danny groaned, ticked off. He didn't know where he was going, and Clockwork had warned him not to use any of his powers until he was picked up. By who or what, the Time Ghost didn't say. And when Danny asked when he could use his powers, Clockwork merely said that he'll know when the time comes.

'_All that guy ever tells me is riddles,"_ he thought resentfully. Right now, he was itching to use his powers to alleviate some of the burden on his now-eleven-year-old body. As Clockwork had informed, three years were taken from Danny in exchange for access to this world. Still, traveling through a craggy forest in such a young body was putting a huge strain on him, and his new clothes didn't help either.

Upon examining his younger build, he discovered that Clockwork gave him a change of apparel as well. He was now wearing a black and white jacket lined with neon green trimmings and a white hood; his white insignia was over his heart, standing out against the inky black material. Looking at the back of his jacket, he noticed there was a white hexagon in the middle. He wore some kind of fishnet shirt underneath, along with a pair of dark-gray pants and black sandals. His forearms were covered with black arm warmers that stretched to his hands, forming fingerless gloves. Looking in the bag he brought along with him, he was relieved to find his jumpsuit in it, for it was an invaluable memento. Right now he wished he were in his jumpsuit; the several layers of material were making him feel stuffy. If it weren't for his endurance, which miraculously stayed at his fourteen-year-old level, he was pretty sure he would have passed out.

As he continued to climb over more roots, he didn't notice several shadows hiding in the foliage. It was only when one of them whizzed by did the raven-haired teen—or now, preteen—stop in his tracks, his enhanced hearing picking up a sound.

Looking around, a silence stretched as he tried to locate the source of the noise. Another minute passed, until movement to his left caught his attention. Jumping out of the way, he dodged a stream of shuriken that ended up impaling the tree behind him. He didn't have much time to process this as another barrage of weapons shot at him, making him jump up into a nearby branch to dodge again. He was about to make a break for it when he felt a sharp, cold metal touch his throat.

"Don't. Move."

* * *

Read and Review.


	4. Chapter 4: The Village Hidden in Leaves

Loooooong chapter guys. I had to combine two chapters so that way I didn't stretch out the introduction too long. Anyway, enjoy the reads!

* * *

Chapter 4: The Village Hidden in the Leaves

It was only after being detained by his captors that Danny got a good look at them.

Well, there wasn't much to look at; their attire consisted solely of a black trench coat that stretched all the way down to their ankles, where Danny noticed that they wore the same kind of sandals he had. But what stood out the most were the eerie masks they wore; they were all made out of white porcelain in minimalistic forms of various animals, adorned with markings of different colors. The man that caught him was wearing one that appeared to be avian; he tightly held Danny's hands behind the preteen's back and pointed a sharp metallic knife to the back of his head.

Danny wasn't ashamed to admit that he was scared out of his mind. If the way these guys dressed was supposed to strike fear into their opponents…well, they succeeded. He had to suppress the immense compulsion to turn intangible and fly as far away as possible. Were these the ones that were supposed to find him? Clockwork said that this world was inhabited by ninja, so that meant he was close to the village he was looking for.

He had to wait—wait and see how this turned out. Still, that didn't mean he didn't have the right to ask questions.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked, hoping that he masked his fear.

Bird-guy just growled, and Danny felt a sharp point at the back of his head.

"Shut up and keep walking. We are taking you to the Hokage."

Danny suppressed a breath of relief. So he _was_ going where he was supposed to. Now his fate was up to this Hokage-guy.

* * *

They walked in silence for what seemed like forever, until they emerged onto a clearing where an enormous wall stretched before them. They approached an equally enormous gate, and the green metallic doors noisily opened to reveal the village inside.

Danny's jaw dropped. _'_This_ is a village? It must be ten times bigger than Amity Park!' _He felt a hard shove and was pushed forward, where Bird-guy addressed a pair of men sitting near the gates; unlike his captors, these two men were dressed in more colorful apparel, wearing green vests.

"What do ya got?" one of them asked.

"A trespasser," Bird-guy said, tightening his grip much to Danny's annoyance. "We caught him wandering the grounds, 4 miles from the walls. We're taking him to the Hokage."

The other guy gave a cruel smirk. "Alright then, off you go." Turning to Danny, he added, "You better pray, kid. We don't take intruders lightly."

Danny glared, determined not to show fear to this jerk. Suddenly he felt an arm grab him and his view filled with white smoke. His body jerked forwards as it began to travel at extreme speeds, with his surroundings becoming indiscernible blurs of color.

Just when he thought he was going to throw up from the sudden whiplash, his feet met stable ground again; he dizzily noticed that there were only three masked guys with him now. Inspecting his surroundings, he saw that they were on the roof of a circular building, encompassed by expanses of smaller buildings and verdant foliage. Danny didn't have much time to study the view as he was once again shoved forward and escorted inside the building.

After walking awkwardly through an _excruciatingly_ long set of hallways, they stopped at a large, polished-wood door with a Japanese character adorned on the surface.

"Watch over him," Bird-guy said. "I'll see if Hokage-sama can attend to this matter." He disappeared behind the door, leaving the three outside.

Danny strained his ears, trying to make out what they were saying; he was surprised to find he couldn't hear anything. He was only standing a few feet from the door, it should be perfectly manageable for his hearing. Was this the _chakra_ stuff Clockwork told him about? Abandoning his efforts, he decided to see if his other two captors would answer his questions.

"Isn't this kind of unfair? Don't I get a say or anything?"

"We don't take trespassers lightly."

"But I'm only fou—eleven!"

"We've stopped hired guns that were even younger. We don't take any chances."

Danny went wide-eyed at that. What kind of people sent kids to kill others? What was he doing in this kind of place?

The captor saw the shock in Danny's eyes and felt a little sympathy.

"Listen kid, if you really have no bad intentions, I suggest you stick to the truth. It won't do you any good to lie."

'_Yeah, except I can't tell the truth because they wouldn't believe me if I did!'_ Danny thought exasperatedly. He'd have to rely on his experience in lying over the years to get him out of being executed on the spot. If this Hokage-guy tried to get into his mind in some way, hopefully his mental resistance could keep him out.

Their exchange was interrupted as the grand doors opened, Bird-guy standing in the entry way. "The Hokage will see you now."

The other two captors walked Danny into the airy, circular room. Both of the masked ninjas released him but not before taking his bag. Danny was about to protest but refrained; if he was going to convince the leader to let him stay, then he'll have to cooperate as much as possible. Besides, there wasn't anything in there that could incriminate him or reveal his falsehood. When the Anbu agents left, he stared at the only other person left in the room.

Sitting across from him in a large desk was an old, dark-skinned man who appeared to be in his late sixties or early seventies. He had a short white goatee, sharp cheek bones, a broad nose, and several liver spots littering his face. The man was dressed in a white cloak covering a red kimono, and the red hat he wore was squarish in form, with white cloth framing the man's face. Danny noticed that the same symbol that was on the door was on the man's hat.

In a gruff voice, the village leader broke the silence.

"The Anbu's have informed me that you were spotted trespassing into the property of the Hidden Leaf Village, four miles from the gates. Is this true?"

Danny straightened. "Yes, but I wasn't trying to trespass or intrude. I came here looking for this place."

The old man looked at him strangely. "You have a very…peculiar intonation. Where are you from?"

Danny steeled himself; now was the moment of truth. "Where I'm from…is secluded from the ninja world. I come from the Land of Spirits." As expected, he was met with a confused look.

"I have never heard of the Land of Spirits," the old man stated.

"It is named so because of our deep connection with the spirits of nature…and the ghosts of the dead." He received a look of surprise from the leader, but he decided to move the discussion further. "I'm sure you've noticed that my chakra feels…weird?"

The Hokage gave an affirmative nod. "I have noticed. It is something I've never seen before. What kind of elemental energy is it?"

"It's not elemental energy. It is the energy found in spirits and ghosts. Our deep connections with these beings have allowed our chakra to develop and adapt the same kind of energy that they use. Only people of my bloodline are capable of harnessing it."

"I see, so it is similar to a Kekkei genkai."

Danny gave him a confused look. "I don't know what that is. As I've said, my people have been isolated from the world for hundreds of years."

The Hokage brought his hands to his chin, explaining, "Kekkei genkai are ninja abilities that are passed down genetically within specific clans." His eyebrows furrowed. "But why do your people come seeking the Hidden Leaf Village after all these years of seclusion?"

The boy looked down sadly, and Hiruzen was shocked by the immense pain in the young boy's face.

"It's not a 'people' anymore. It's just me."

Hiruzen's eyes widened, understanding what the boy was implying. Danny didn't notice as he continued to talk, looking down solemnly.

"There weren't very many of us to begin with. Centuries of isolation can lead a group to dwindle, and eventually it was just my family. We were planning to come to the Hidden Leaf Village eventually…but that all changed four months ago. A malevolent spirit attacked us, killing everyone in my family. I escaped and was left to wander until I found this village."

Immediately, the Hokage thought of the most recent tragedy that bore a striking resemblance to the boy's story: the Uchiha massacre. While the Uchiha clan were far more numerous than what this boy described, it was still devastating to hear that an entire family was ruthlessly murdered, leaving only an orphan to carry the pain. Hiruzen saw that very pain on the boy's face. But one question remained unanswered.

"What became of the murderer?"

The boy's fists clenched. "He was apprehended by our allied spirits. As far as I know, he has little to no chance of escaping." The boy fell silent, indicating that he was done.

Hiruzen closed his eyes, contemplating the whole situation. While he sympathized with the boy, there was no way of knowing if his story was true or not. If his clan was able to escape the notice of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, it would be useless to send someone to investigate. He was not keen about it, but he would have to put his faith in the boy's word. He looked at him.

"What is your exact reason for coming to Konoha?"

"To get a fresh start. I can't bear to stay home anymore. It's too…painful." Danny looked at the old man. "I don't expect you to believe me, and I will leave if you tell me to. I only ask to be given a second chance at a normal life."

Danny stood still as he watched the elder close his eyes again and contemplate. He prayed that his and Clockwork's story would convince the leader; after all it's not like he was completely bending the truth, more like…adapting it. The old man placed his hands on his desk, and Danny immediately straightened.

"The fact that I've never heard of your people, or your bloodline, does not work in your favor," he said, then gave a solemn look. "However, we have had our own history of bloodshed because of such ruthlessness. I will give you an opportunity to live in the village, but you will need to provide your own income. In addition, I will have the Anbu Black-Ops keep you under surveillance at all times to make sure you are not speaking falsehoods."

Danny exhaled steadily, his face showing relief and gratitude. "Thank you so much, um…"

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, but refer to my title, Hokage-sama."

Danny nodded and bowed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. My name is Daniel Fenton."

The elder nodded, and Danny turned to leave, but remembered something important. He bit his lip. "Um…would it be pushing it if I asked to be taught how to read and write? I never learned," he added hastily upon seeing the shocked look on the Hokage's face.

Getting over his surprise, the Hokage passed a hand over his face. "I can have one of the Academy teachers teach you after classes are dismissed. However, in exchange I would like to know what abilities your bloodline has."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "My abilities include invisibility, intangibility, and the power to dispel a type of high-heated energy."

The Hokage gave him a blank look. "That is…quite an assortment."

"The spirits of my homeland possess these abilities," Danny informed.

"I see," the Hokage said. "Well then, I shall have one of the Anbu's escort you to your new residence. Keep in mind that you are responsible for earning your own income. Also, take this." He withdrew a small booklet from his desk, and handed it to Danny. "It is a guide to the history and laws of the Hidden Leaf Village. You will be studying this during your tutoring at the Academy. Any violation of these laws will result in your immediate expulsion from the village."

For the first time in ages, Danny's stoic face formed a sincere smile. "I can't thank you enough."

The Hokage couldn't help a smile of his own; it seemed he really helped someone today. "There is no need. Take care, and good luck."

Hiruzen watched the boy give one final bow and walk out the door with an Anbu escort. A few minutes of silence passed, and he gave a short wave of his hand, gesturing the Bird-masked Anbu to appear in front of him. The ninja immediately presented himself and bowed respectfully.

"Hokage-sama, forgive me, but are you sure it is wise to let the boy remain in the village? We know nothing about where he comes from, or even if he is telling the truth. Also, the peculiar nature of his chakra is questionable."

The Hokage gave a soft grunt. Hawk was a great squad leader, and he always took the best precautions in missions; however, sometimes his paranoia made him a little insensitive.

Hiruzen addressed the Anbu with a serious expression. "Did you see his eyes?"

Hawk tilted his head, not understanding the question. "Yes, sir?"

The elder bowed his head slightly, face thoughtful. "The look in the boy's eyes, Hawk…I personally believe you cannot imitate that look with such sincerity."

"Sir?"

"…It was the look of a boy who has nothing left in the world."

* * *

Danny was led—or more like carried—by his more-sociable Anbu captor to his new residence. He was irritated beyond belief that he had to be lugged across the entire village like some squirt. His Anbu wasn't too happy about it either. Even though Danny was eleven again, he was far from a squirt; thanks to his dad's colossal genes he was always taller than most of the other kids his age. Still, his fourteen-year-old ego was suffering a huge blow.

"Can't we just walk?"

"Sorry, kid. Anbu's aren't supposed to be seen in plain sight. It's sort of why we do the whole mask thing."

'_So they're like the CIA of this place?'_ Danny mused, then tried to forget his irritation by focusing on the scenery that moved by him. The Hidden Leaf Village, or Konoha, had a huge assortment of different buildings and houses, occasionally broken up by thick masses of trees. In the distance, Danny could make out a few enclosed compounds; those were probably the clans that the Hokage mentioned. Overall, Danny had to admit that it was a beautiful village.

Eventually the two arrived at what appeared to be a large beige apartment complex with orange roofs. Green planks of wood aligned the sides, and the end of the building formed a semicircle. The Anbu accompanied him through the lobby, and both were greeted by who Danny could only assume was the landlord.

"Er, what can I do for you, sir?" the landlord asked.

"The Hokage has requested that this boy be given a room during his residence here. He will be providing his own rent," the Anbu informed.

The landlord frowned. "I'm sorry, but we don't have any available rooms."

The Anbu stepped forward. "None at all?" he questioned.

The landlord pulled at his collar, unnerved. "W-well, there is _one_ room available…but the residents usually leave when they find out who lives next door."

Danny gave him a confused frown. "If it's a noisy neighbor, it's no big deal. I'm a deep sleeper," he said. He only received a puzzled look from the landowner.

"No—well yes, he is noisy—but it's more about who the person is. His name is Naruto Uzumaki."

Danny quirked an eyebrow at him. "What about him?"

The landlord only widened his eyes, but before he could say anything the Anbu stepped in.

"He is not from the Land of Fire, so he wouldn't know who that is."

At this the landlord gave Danny a slightly skeptical look, then responded, "Nothing. It's just that he's always going around pulling pranks and other stunts. I'm sure you wouldn't want to be living next to _that_."

Danny frowned, not liking how the landowner stressed that last word. "Well, as long as _he_ doesn't try his pranks on me, I'm fine. I need a place to stay."

The landlord continued to stare at him, then sighed reluctantly.

"Alright, just don't come complaining when you want to move out." He handed Danny the keys to the new apartment and stood up to lead him to his room. Before Danny left to follow him, the preteen turned around to the Anbu, who seemed to be contemplating something.

"Um, thanks for…carrying me all the way here. You're better than that Bird guy."

The Anbu seemed a little stunned, then rubbed his head in an embarrassed manner. "Uh, thanks. And good luck with, well, everything. We'll be keeping an eye on you," he reminded.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I figured."

The boy left to his room, giving the Anbu a few minutes alone. Eventually, the ninja left, returning to the Third Hokage.

* * *

Naruto leap tiredly through the rooftops, retiring after doing some late training. He still couldn't figure out the Clone Technique, which was frustrating him beyond belief. Well, he wasn't that great at all his other techniques either, but Iruka-sensei had told them that the Clone Technique was required for graduation.

Naruto continued to make his way towards his apartment in the dark village, then stumbled at an unusual sight: lit windows. Not from his own, but from the apartment next door. The one that was always empty.

Naruto stood stunned, blinking several times to make sure his fatigued mind wasn't deceiving him. Yes, there were lights filtering through the closed blinds, which meant that there was another person living next to him.

The blonde frowned bitterly; he remembered having seen other people try to move into that apartment. Yet whenever they found out that they were living next to the loud, notorious Naruto Uzumaki, he woke up the next morning to find the apartment empty again. Naruto was more-or-less used to the entire village shunning him already, but it still hurt that everybody would flee the premises at the mere sight of him. It would be no different with this new tenant.

Yawning, Naruto decided to leave the mystery of his new neighbor for another day, opting instead to go to bed and get some rest before class tomorrow morning.

* * *

The filtered rays of morning shone through the closed blinds, hitting the reclined figure of a very tousled preteen. The entire bed was a disarray of blankets and sheets, with the bottommost one having been torn completely off the mattress. Danny opened his tired eyes wearily but couldn't see anything since his vision was clouded. Taking a few minutes to blink away the blurs, his mind immediately filled with alarm at the unfamiliar surroundings.

He jolted straight out of bed, panic filling his body before the events of the previous day came rushing back to him, and he eased back slowly as he took a deep breath.

So…he really did leave. He was in a new dimension, and he didn't know anybody. Well, that was fine. The only people that needed to be interested in him were the Hokage and those Anbu guys that captured him.

Speaking of, where were they?

Danny looked around but couldn't see any signs of the agents that were supposed to be watching him. Straining his ears, Danny could hear…two? No, three sets of heartbeats. They weren't going to let him out of their sight, so no transformations.

Danny looked around the new apartment. It was pretty well-furnished; he had his own bedroom, which contained a simple bed, dresser, and bathroom, and a full kitchen with a refrigerator and table for meals. Getting up, Danny went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator—it was completely empty. The Hokage wasn't kidding when he said he would have to provide his own food and income. Sighing, Danny went to the bathroom to fix his bed hair and wash up. First things first: he would have to get a job.

He turned around. "Do any of you guys know where I can get a job?"

No response.

Heaving another sigh, Danny grabbed his keys and made his way out the door. The sun was beaming brightly on the orange roofs, while the trees shined a vivid viridian. Danny stood admiring the lush greens before a loud slam caught his attention. Looking around, he saw an orange blur before it crashed right into him, knocking him into his door with a yelp. Rubbing the back of his head, Danny heard a distant high-pitched voice.

"Sorry, I'm running late!"

Danny's head snapped towards the voice, and he saw the owner speeding away, leaping through the rooftops with great agility. It was a boy dressed in a vivid orange tracksuit, and he had a shock of blonde hair that could rival the color of the sun. Danny also noticed that the kid wore the same kind of sandals he had, but they were navy blue.

'_Must be popular,'_ Danny thought. As he was getting himself up his eyes caught sight of a round object on the floor. It appeared to be some kind of scroll, with several characters adorning the surface. The blonde kid obviously dropped it in his rush. Picking it up, Danny looked to see if he could catch the kid, but he was long gone.

'_I can give it back later when he comes home.'_ Giving a small grunt, he turned to ask, "Can any of you guys give this back to that kid?"

No response.

"You guys aren't much help, you know that?"

Still no response.

Giving a frustrated sigh, Danny tucked the scroll into one of his jacket pockets and began to descend the building, deciding to get an early start on his job hunt.

* * *

The day only got better as the hours stretched by. The weather was invigorating, putting everyone in a cheerful mood…except for one person.

Danny was fuming, more from frustration than from heat. After about half a day's worth of wandering and asking store owners, he still didn't land a job. His inability to read any of the signs was part of the reason why it was taking him forever. The other reason was that _if_ the owners were hiring, they quickly denied him a job either because of his age, illiteracy, or foreignness.

'_How does the Hokage think I can get a job? Is there even a place around here that will hire a kid?'_

He continued walking down the busy street, occasionally gaining some looks due to his unfamiliar appearance. As he turned a corner, the sight of a small store caught his attention. It looked to be some kind of convenience store combined with a bookstore, and by the looks of it, it had recently opened up. But what caught Danny's attention was the small sign that was propped on the clean window. He couldn't understand the characters, but if his guess was right, that was probably a "Help Wanted" sign. A new store would need new employees, so he decided to give it a shot. Danny entered the store, and a gentle chime announced his presence.

Despite its outward look, the store was actually pretty big; it had several aisles of foods and snacks, while the left side of the store had several shelves of neatly organized books. Danny made his way towards the front desk, where he found the hunched back of a worker rearranging things. He took a deep breath.

"I noticed your sign on the window. Are you by any chance hiring?"

The worker continued to mind his task, not looking up. "That I am," the male voice replied. "What are you looking to do?"

"Just some grunt work, like picking up boxes and rearranging shelves."

The worker looked up, and Danny saw that it was a man around his fifties, sporting dark peppery hair that was whiting at the edges and a goatee. He was smoking a cigarette as he looked critically at Danny with his light gray eyes.

"Um, when I put that sign up front, I was expecting to see someone a little bit…taller. How old are you?"

Danny flinched internally; this was usually the part that got him rejected.

"I'm eleven."

The man just stared at him. "…Do your parents know you're applying for a job?"

Danny stiffened. "My parents…aren't around. I actually just came to Konoha yesterday by myself, to live here. The Hokage said I would need to get a job to provide for myself," Danny explained wearily. He could already tell that this wasn't working out.

The worker continued to look at him, his face a mixture of suspicion and slight concern. He wasn't going to question the kid on his background, but from what he could tell the kid was a foreigner and an orphan in need of a job. He sighed at his internal conflict. He did want to help the boy, but the fact that he was eleven, skinny, and foreign weren't qualities he was looking for in an employee. How did the Hokage expect this kid to find a job?

"You seem pretty skinny to do grunt work, don't you think? Why don't you do something like cataloging or listing prices?" he suggested, then saw the younger boy bite his lip, like he was cursing inside.

"I…can't read or write. I never learned," Danny quickly looked at the worker, "But I'm going to get lessons at the Academy after classes. I promise, I'll do everything I can in the meantime. Trust me, I'm stronger than I look." He wasn't lying; years of ghost fighting did add some physical strength to his human side, and he had his ghost strength.

The older man had a look of disbelief, mostly at the bit about not knowing how to read. How _did_ the Hokage expect this kid to get a job? He pinched the bridge of his nose, heaving a very tired sigh.

"You really need a job, don't you?"

Danny nodded, not meeting eyes with the worker. "I've been rejected everywhere else."

'_Damn it…'_ The worker grunted and reached into the back of the counter to withdraw a white apron. He tossed it to Danny, who received it with shock.

"Wait—really?"

"I might as well throw you a bone…After all, nobody's going to hire a rug-rat like you." He ignored the indignant flush that instantly appeared on the boy's face. "Shift starts at 7 AM _sharp_. I expect you to come to work _every day_, including weekends. I hope you're as strong as you say, because I'll have you picking up shipments from all around the village. If I hear _one_ complaint, or see any money missing, you're out of here, got it?"

Danny continued to stare, a look of utter disbelief on his face.

"I said _got it_?"

Danny got his mouth to work. "Um, yes—thank you Mr…"

"Kimura. What's your name?"

"Daniel Fenton, but you can call me Danny."

Mr. Kimura gave a curt nod, then reached into his pocket. "Here," he withdrew a few notes and held them out to Danny, "I don't want you going without supper tonight. This is enough to last you for a week, so spend it wisely. You can pay me back when you get your paycheck. Work starts tomorrow."

Danny's face slowly softened, losing its initial shock. He slowly reached to accept the notes, then turned to Mr. Kimura with a grateful look. "Thank you."

Mr. Kimura only nodded as he put out his cigarette. "No problem, just don't make me regret it."

Danny was about to give him a handshake, but remembering where he was, just gave an awkward bow. He half-ran-half-walked out of the store, relieved beyond belief. Looking at the setting sun, he decided to get a quick bite to eat before he returned to his apartment.

* * *

The sky began to darken, bathing the village in cool hues. The store windows began to illuminate with yellow light as Danny continued walking through the darkening streets, looking for a good restaurant.

He was about to turn down a side street when a mouthwatering aroma filled his nose. He looked to find a small noodle shop to his right, the yellow light confirming its divine presence. Danny smiled; he tried instant ramen before, but never the authentic stuff they served in restaurants. Going under the awnings that hung in the entryway, he sat down and was immediately greeted by an middle-aged chef and a young smiling waitress.

"Welcome to Ramen Ichiraku! Are you a new customer?"

Danny gave a nod in greeting. "Yes, my name is Danny."

The chef gave him a smile, then handed him a menu. "First bowl's on the house. My name's Teuchi and this is my daughter Ayame"

"Thanks, it's nice to meet you," Danny said, then sweatdropped at seeing the countless characters that littered the menu. "Umm…what's your best dish?"

"That would be the miso ramen."

"Alright, I'll have one of those."

"Coming up," Ayame answered.

Danny closed his eyes and let the sounds of bubbling broth and sizzling meats occupy his mind. His attention snapped back when the older chef spoke to him.

"So, I don't think I've ever seen you around. Where are you from?"

Danny suppressed a flinch; throughout the day he learned that not many of the villagers were fond of foreigners. "I'm from the Land of Spirits, I just arrived in the village yesterday."

He was met with confused looks by both cooks. "The Land of Spirits? I've never heard of it. Why did you and your folks come here?"

"It's just me. I came because I don't have anywhere else to stay."

Both the chef and his daughter gained shocked looks.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Hey old man!" interrupted a high-pitched voice. Danny immediately recognized the voice. Turning his head, Danny saw the grinning face of the blonde kid that knocked him over this morning. He had deep blue eyes and wore a pair of green goggles on his forehead. But what stood out were the faint, whisker-like marks on the kid's cheeks, three on each. Even in the night, his orange tracksuit stood out like a sore thumb.

The chef regarded him with a warm smile. "Naruto! Nice to see our favorite customer. One miso?"

"You got it! I haven't had miso in forever!" the blonde said eagerly, taking a seat one stool away from Danny.

"Coming right up! And here is your order, sir." Teuchi placed a big steaming bowl of noodles before Danny, making the raven-haired give a small smile in thanks. Danny immediately dug in, savoring the rich taste of broth and juices of meats combined in an exquisite alchemy of flavor. While eating, he felt the blonde giving him glances, and he immediately remembered something.

"Hey, you dropped this," Danny told the blonde, who seemed startled at the voice. Danny reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew the scroll he picked up in the morning, holding it out.

The blonde's eyes immediately bugged out of his head. "Waah?! That's where it went?! I had to stay an hour after class getting a lecture! Where did you find it?!"

Danny stopped eating to give him an annoyed look. "It fell out of your pocket when you knocked me over this morning. I was going to give it back to you when you came back. Bit of advice, zip your pockets."

The orange-clad kid only gave an irked expression before it changed to one of confusion. "Knocked you over? Wait…" his eyes gained a look of realization. "Are you the new guy that's living next door?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah, I am. My name's Daniel Fenton, but you can call me Danny."

The blonde looked at him. "…That's a weird name. You've got a weird accent, too." He took the scroll, not seeing the glare Danny shot him. "And…you were going to give this back to me?"

Danny quirked an eyebrow. "Well, yeah. It is yours right? Don't you need it?"

The orange kid continued to stare at Danny, before his mouth lifted a little. "Uh, I do, thanks. If you hadn't returned this, I would've been in big trouble with Iruka-sensei. He kept me after class for an hour, yelling at me for losing it."

Danny got a curious look, remembering something the Hokage told him. "After class? You mean at the Academy?"

The blonde immediately perked up, a confident look on his face. "You heard me! I'm training to be the greatest ninja! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to be the next Hokage! Dattebayo!" He gave Danny a thumbs-up, finishing with a huge grin.

'_Kid's got spunk,'_ Danny thought, amused. "That's pretty good, I hope you achieve it." To his puzzlement, the blonde gave him a shocked look.

"That's it?" Naruto asked disbelievingly.

Danny raised a dull eyebrow, then lifted up a fist and sarcastically said, "Whoopee?"

"No, no," Naruto shook his head, still confused. "It's just that…You're not going to mock me? Or tell me it'll never happen?"

Danny frowned. "Why would I do that? I just met you."

Naruto was stunned at the kid's statement. This new kid didn't treat him like the other villagers did…It flustered him a bit.

"Uh, what did you say your name was again?"

The raven-haired didn't look at him as he finished his noodles. "Danny, Danny Fenton. I'm new to Konoha."

Naruto gained an interested look. "Are you here to train at the Academy?"

To his confusion, the raven-haired frowned at that, like the very idea was completely offensive.

"No, I am just living here," he said very firmly, giving a slight scowl that unnerved the blonde a bit. Naruto remained quiet, but before he could ask another question Danny cut him off, turning to the chef.

"How much do I owe you?"

"80 ryo."

Danny pulled out the appropriate amount of notes, making sure to leave the kind chef a good tip. "Thank you, it was delicious," he complimented, then turned to his new neighbor and gave a slight wave. "See you around, then," he bid before leaving to go home.

Naruto continued to look at the boy, processing the whole exchange again. "Yeah, see you," he bid thoughtfully. The eleven-year-old turned back to begin his freshly-made ramen bowl, although he didn't seem to be concentrating on the flavor as much as he would like.

His mind drifted back to the strange boy and the slightly polar attitude the kid had. He seemed distant and sarcastic, even a bit on the rude side, but the amount of resolution his eyes possessed shocked Naruto. They didn't betray any ill feelings or intentions to the blonde. Although the kid's eyes were clear as ice, they didn't hold the same kind of cold stare the rest of the villagers regarded him with.

Naruto's chest lifted slightly as he continued to slurp his noodles and finish his dinner.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, a pair of old eyes was watching.

* * *

Read &amp; Review.


	5. Chapter 5: Questions

Woohoo! First chapter set done! Like I said, after every five chapters, I'll take a break to write another five, and so on and so forth.

Also, thank you all for the helpful reviews and kind words! :) Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5: Questions

"_A_, _ka_, _ga_, _sa_, _za_—"

"Oh, there's no extra stroke on those last two. Otherwise they become _ki_ and _gi_."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Right, sorry."

The teacher only smiled, not mad in the least. "Don't worry about it. You are picking up very fast, for someone who hasn't learned how to read."

The raven-haired didn't respond to that, only giving a small hum and continuing reciting. The brunette's smile fell a little. It has been a week since he started teaching the newcomer the hiragana sets, and to his delight the kid was starting to catch up very quickly; he always listened, took notes, and accepted criticism graciously.

However—and here Iruka had to suppress a sigh—the kid was incredibly distant. The boy wasn't rude; he never spoke impolitely and apologized if he did anything even scarcely disrespectful. But it seemed that he had no interest in actually getting to know the older ninja…or anybody for that matter.

Iruka gently tapped a finger on one of the charts. "With the rate you're learning the hiragana, we should be able to start katakana by next week," he informed, then bit his lip. "If you want, I can ask one of my students to tutor you outside of class…"

Danny quickly shook his head. "That's alright. You're doing a great job teaching me."

"I see…Well, the sun's starting to go down, so why don't we end it here for today? Good job," Iruka dismissed.

The hybrid got up and bowed. "Thank you so much for taking the time to teach me."

The brunette smiled. "There is no need to be so formal, Danny. It is no trouble at all."

Once the raven-haired nodded and left, Iruka released the sigh he had suppressed earlier.

The Hokage had given him a brief history of his newest student before their lessons began. Apparently, the boy came from an isolated part of the ninja world, explaining the illiteracy.

But even more surprising—and here Iruka's face grew grave—the boy had lost his entire family, leaving him an orphan. From what he learned over the past week, the kid always came to class back from his job—yes, he had a job. When Iruka had inquired the Hokage about it, the elder informed him that it would had raised protests from the Council if he provided all the living accommodations for a foreigner.

The brunette's heart weighed down in sympathy, he had a few students who were in similar positions. It was bad enough for the boy to go through such an ordeal, but now he had to work and solely provide for himself at such an age? The kid was only eleven.

It seemed that this prevented Danny from making any companions, so Iruka has tried to help him in that area by subtly offering different opportunities to interact with kids his age. To his disappointment, the raven-haired refused all of them.

The Chuunin began to collect his materials absentmindedly. In these kinds of situations, he above all people knew that he had to be patient. In time, his new student will adjust to the Hidden Leaf's way of life and maybe make some friends…hopefully.

* * *

Danny gave a weary sigh as he walked home, relishing the warm, fuzzy atmosphere the sunset provided.

Contrary to his initial beliefs, he actually enjoyed learning the new language; he was picking up faster than he expected. Who knew that learning stuff was so much easier without all the constant ghost attacks and all-nighters?

Danny smiled slightly as he walked down the street. Without being occupied with his usual paranormal activities, he discovered that he was pretty adept in other subjects as well. One of them was building and repairing things. Since he wouldn't receive his next paycheck for another two weeks, Danny found that he couldn't hire anybody to fix some of the problems in his new apartment, such as the electricity. However, after taking matters into his own hands, he was able to do the job pretty well on his own. It turns out that growing up as the son of two inventors had its benefits.

A nearby shuffle snapped him out of his thoughts. Turning around, the hybrid saw no one on the empty street but frowned nonetheless. He continued to walk down the path before quickly turning into a corner.

* * *

Naruto peeked out with a sneaky glare from behind the second floor wall of the building and saw his neighbor disappear into a corner. He grinned; that way was a dead end. Jumping onto the street with a clack, he slinked to the same corner, getting ready to go for the kill. As soon as he got close enough he jumped into the alleyway.

"I got you this time—! Huh?"

To his complete bewilderment, the entire alley was empty. The blonde stood for a second, then began methodically looking above and behind him He checked the corners, the roofs, even a few garbage cans, but he couldn't find sight of his neighbor. Naruto plopped down next to the wall, brooding.

"Damn it!" he grumbled, "I was so sure I got him this time! How the hell does he keep doing that?"

If the kid hadn't said so himself, Naruto would have been convinced that he was a ninja—his evasion skills were top-notch. It's been a week since his new neighbor moved in, and to his delight Naruto found that the kid hadn't moved away. It made the blonde excited to finally have a neighbor for the first time in his life.

The was only one problem—the kid was really avoidant. All of Naruto's attempts to talk to the boy only resulted in one-word responses and the kid slipping away from under him. Naruto took other opportunities to get to know his neighbor, but all ended the same, with the kid either making up excuses or slipping out from under him.

Eventually, it turned into a game of cat-and-mouse for the blonde. For the past couple of days he would sneak around the raven-haired and try to corner him every chance he got. His neighbor quickly caught on his scheme, and soon the evading grew to ridiculous proportions.

One time, when Naruto saw the kid enter a restroom, the blonde had waited for him to come out…for four hours. Fed up, Naruto banged on the door, only to find the restroom completely vacant—he had ended up waiting four hours outside an empty bathroom. The next morning when Naruto saw his neighbor, Danny gave him his usual greeting, but it seemed like the raven-haired was busting a gut trying not to laugh.

That made Naruto seethe, and from then on he was determined to catch the guy no matter what. His new neighbor was stubborn…but he was even more stubborn.

Naruto stood up with an obstinate frown on his face. _'Get ready, cause you're not gonna trick me again!'_

* * *

"That kid is so annoying…" Danny grumbled, but he couldn't stop smirking at the kid's reaction to his disappearance. It never got old seeing the blonde get outwitted. Was it cruel? Yeah, probably. Was he going to stop? …

'…_I'll have to eventually,'_ Danny thought. The Anbus were constantly watching him, and it didn't help his case whenever he pulled one of his vanishing acts. He would always hear them scurry back once he turned visible, and very recently he found that they added a fourth guy to the surveillance group. He wasn't doing a good job of convincing them to let him stay.

'_Disappearing constantly is going to get me kicked out, they're already really suspicious of me. Besides, I can't keep running from that kid forever…'_ Danny sighed. It was starting to weigh down on him, constantly ditching the blonde like that, he knew his neighbor only wanted to get to know him better. Even with Iruka-sensei, he could see through the older man's attempts to get him to open up.

But he didn't want to open up, he didn't want anybody to get to know him.

Putting his hands into his pockets, Danny continued to walk home in silence, with the sounds of the village as his only company.

* * *

Isao thumbed through the catalogues, trying to tally up which products most of his customers requested; he was delighted that his store was starting to kick off. He continued to pore over the lists when a loud thud from behind him caught his attention. Turning around, he found his younger employee breathing slightly heavily with a large wooden crate in front of him.

"I just got back from picking up the books at the front gates," Danny said. "Is there anything else I need to get?"

Mr. Kimura gaped at him. "You're back already? With _that_? That thing is packed with thick volumes!" Even he couldn't have wheeled that in the amount of time the kid had.

Danny looked away. "It's no big deal…How are the lights working?"

Isao gave an approving tilt of his head. "They're working perfectly. You saved me a lot of money from hiring a repair man." He stuck his tongue in his cheek and glanced away, trying to appear nonchalant. "You know…you surprised me…with knowing how to fix the lights and refrigerator. You're a smart—_What's with that look?_"

Danny, realizing that his mouth had been open, whipped his head to the side, his face reddening. Ever since he started working for Isao Kimura, he learned that the old grouch was very hard to impress. Hearing him give out such a straightforward compliment was like seeing Bigfoot. "N-nothing…"

Mr. Kimura grunted, not buying it. "Since you're back early, why don't you take those to the Academy? Make sure you tell them that it's from Kimura's Books."

Danny raised an eyebrow at the older man. "Why didn't you tell me to take the box directly to the Academy?" He received an innocent look from Mr. Kimura.

"Well, if you did that, then the books wouldn't really be _from_ Kimura's Books, now would it? You would have just been promoting our supplier. And, heaven knows, I need all the business I can get."

Danny frowned dully at the ridiculous logic. Mr. Kimura continued to smile at him.

"Go on, now. Don't keep them waiting."

* * *

Naruto fidgeted in his seat, waiting for lunch to start. His stomach was begging for Ichiraku's right now and it was driving him crazy. He grinned—maybe he can get an early start if he excused himself to go to the bathroom. He raised his hand, catching Iruka's attention.

"Iruka-sensei, may I—"

"No, you can't use the bathroom. You have to wait for lunch like everyone else."

"Eh!"

A few students snickered, causing the blonde to shrink in embarrassment. At that note, Iruka decided to dismiss the class.

Naruto filed out with the rest of the class, hands behind his head; he was contemplating on what flavor ramen he should order when grousing caught his attention.

"Old man…trying to get payback…"

The blonde perked up; he recognized that voice. Sneaking to the end of the hallway and peeking out the corner, Naruto saw who he was expecting: his neighbor. The tall boy just came up from climbing the stairs, heaving a crate that seemed to be three times his weight. He was gazing frustratingly at the label on top.

Naruto gave a foxy grin—now he got him. He leap out of the corner, shouting, "Hey you!"

Danny gave a shout and jerked, causing the crate to almost fall to the ground. Naruto, realizing his mistake, rushed forward to help him, but his neighbor caught the crate at the last minute.

The blonde looked at his neighbor and immediately shuddered at the menacing scowl the raven-haired was giving him.

"What the hell are you doing? You almost made me drop this!"

Naruto bristled and pointed at him. "Oh yeah? What are _you_ doing? I thought you said you weren't training at the Academy!"

"I'm not training, I'm working."

Naruto lowered his hand. "Working?"

"Yeah, I'm here to drop off a delivery of volumes for the Academy." The boy hesitated. "Could you take me to Iruka-sensei?"

Naruto was surprised. "You know Iruka-sensei?"

The raven-haired cursed silently. "Yeah, he gives me…help after classes."

"Help with what?"

Danny shot the blonde a sharp glare. "Are you going to take me to him or not?"

Naruto looked irately at the raven-haired. "Alright! Geez…" Looking at the label on the crate, he turned to his neighbor in confusion. "This box isn't addressed to Iruka-sensei, it's for the office on the third floor."

Danny turned a shade of red. "…Right…can you take me there?"

Naruto, nodded, still perplexed. "Uh, sure, it's one floor up."

Naruto gestured to the stairs, and the two began to climb up, not saying a word to each other. Naruto bit his lip as he tried to think of something to say. In all honesty, he had been so caught up in trying to catch the guy that he didn't bother thinking of what he should say once he did. Looking at the raven-haired, he could tell that the kid was still embarrassed, although for what he had no idea.

The two reached the third floor, and here Naruto decided to drop him off, wanting to get away from the awkwardness.

"Well, this is it. So…I guess I'll see you around…" He turned to leave but the kid stopped him.

"Wait, you have to show me where."

Naruto eyed him. "It has a sign next to the door, you can't miss it."

Danny looked at him irritably. "Every door here has a sign next to it."

Now it was Naruto's turn to get irritated. "It has the word 'office' on it. Can't you read?"

There was a beat of silence. The raven-haired's mouth tightened, then he turned his head to face away from Naruto. From next to him, the blonde saw his neck and ears slowly turn a vibrant shade of red. Naruto gawked at him.

"You can't read?"

Danny whipped his head back, fuming. "No, I can't! That's why I needed to see Iruka-sensei." He started walking away. "Forget it, I'll ask somebody else."

Naruto snapped out of his stupefaction and raced forward, cutting in front of the boy's path and shaking his hands frantically. "No! No! I'm sorry!" he glanced to the ground, "I'm sorry, it's just that—I've never met somebody who couldn't read before."

Danny glared at him. "That doesn't give you the right to gape at somebody like they've grown an extra head." Ignoring the blonde's blush he shifted the crate. "Look, can we get going with this? It's starting to get heavy."

Naruto straightened. "Yeah, it's this one…"

The two walked a few doors down and reached the main office; the two entered and approached the front desk.

Danny set the crate down on the floor and addressed the man at the desk. "I'm here to drop off several volumes that you ordered?"

The man leaned over to look at the label. "Hmm, are these the texts on herbal formulas for medical shinobi?"

Naruto, having read the label, nodded. "Yeah, they are."

The man scowled at the blonde, causing Naruto to flinch and Danny to look puzzled. "I wasn't talking to you. What are you even doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on lunch break?"

Danny shot the man an icy glare, miffed at the way the man was talking to his neighbor; the worker grew surprised. "_He_ was helping me deliver these to the right address. You might as well thank him—I would have never found this place if he didn't help me."

Naruto and the man had similar looks of incredulity. The raven-haired ignored them, instead continuing to glower at the older ninja. Naruto especially had to resist the urge to gape again. Never, before in his life, had someone so blatantly stood up for him.

The man forced himself away from the kid's stare, scratched his cheek awkwardly, and finally mumbled, "Well…yes…thank you…"

Danny furrowed his brows. The man didn't look at his neighbor when he thanked him, but it was probably the best he was going to get. Sighing, he said, "If you wish to order anymore texts, contact Kimura's Books."

The man merely dipped his head, and at that both boys left the office and descended the stairs, once again in silence. Naruto was still processing what happened.

Once they exited the doors of the Academy and stepped outside, Danny rubbed his neck, a little embarrassed about his behavior from before.

"Right…well, see you around—"

"Wait!"

Naruto approached the raven-haired, wavering. He looked down, hands clenched, becoming suddenly fascinated with the shallow grooves that decorated the dirt. Finally, he murmured, "You…Thanks…for what you did back there. Nobody has ever stood up for me before…"

Danny's eyes widened and he turned to face the blonde. "What do you mean 'before'?" he narrowed his eyes, "Do people treat you like this often?"

Naruto looked at the taller boy. "Uh, yeah…but it's no big deal. I'm used to it by now—" The blonde froze, rattled by the glare his neighbor was giving him.

Danny turned to face him fully. "It is a big deal. Nobody should act that way towards anyone. You deserve to be treated with respect."

Astonishment filled Naruto's features as he continued to stare at his neighbor. He felt his chest fill with a warm, soothing feeling.

Danny glanced down the road. "I…should get going before my boss gets angry." He rubbed the back of his neck, deliberating hard on his next words. It would probably lead him to trouble in the future, but…

"Listen, I have reading lessons with Iruka-sensei everyday after classes. If anybody is treating you like that again, you can come and tell me, okay?"

Naruto didn't answer or change his expression. At his lack of response, Danny waved a hand in front of his face, snapping him back to Earth. "U-Uh, right, thank you…" he strained his memory, "Danny."

Danny nodded. "It's no problem. See you around…Naruto." With that Danny departed to get back to his job. Naruto watched him go, not taking a step of his own.

He couldn't believe it…Did he actually have a friend? Well…the kid didn't say he would be his friend…But he couldn't help the excited grin that spread throughout his face. A few snickers escaped him, then he took to the roofs with great fervor, racing to get some ramen before the lunch period ended.

* * *

A few white seeds settled on the hybrid's hair as he continued walking, taking his time. This particular route to the Academy consisted of a path flanked by trees on both sides, where countless tufts drifted from the branches above, flying lazily through the air. It was a nice serene spot, and Danny always enjoyed taking his time to enjoy the sights and smells; it was a nice break from the constant work. Maybe some of Sam's love of nature did rub off on him.

The hybrid's shoulders sagged slightly as he felt the weight in his heart get heavy, but he pulled himself out of it. _'I don't want anybody asking what's wrong…'_ He focused all of his attention on the scenery for the rest of the walk.

Arriving at the Academy, Danny went to his usual classroom, only to find it empty. He looked around but found nobody. He frowned, it wasn't like Iruka to be late. Debating on going to the office and asking, Danny heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Danny!"

Turning around, the raven-haired saw a smiling Naruto standing at the doorway.

Danny gave a slight wave. "Hey, Naruto. Have you seen Iruka-sensei? We're supposed to start our lessons right now."

The blonde narrowed his eyes in thought before they lit up in recollection. "Oh, Iruka-sensei had to run a quick errand for the Hokage, so he let us out early. I think he should be back soon."

"Alright, thanks."

Danny set his books down on the desk and opened one of them to begin memorizing the next set of words. He then noticed that the blonde still hadn't moved. He looked at Naruto, who seemed to be itching to say something.

"…What?"

Naruto fidgeted and darted his eyes around. "It's just that…I was wondering…" He glanced at the books on the desk, then suddenly switched his gaze to the tiles on the ceiling, hoping the raven-haired didn't see.

Danny gave a dull look; the blonde's face was practically an open book. "You want to know why I can't read."

Naruto jerked and began spluttering. "I-I wasn't going to say it like that! I-I was just really curious…" It had been a question that Naruto wanted to ask his neighbor, but he didn't know the right way to say it since there was a good chance the kid would take it the wrong way. Naruto didn't want to jeopardize the little companionship he had with him.

Danny sighed and closed his book. He saw no harm in telling the kid where he was "from."

"You know I'm not from Konoha, right?" At Naruto's nod, he continued, "I'm not even from the Land of Fire or the Shinobi Nations. I come from a country that's been secluded from the rest of the world for hundreds of years—the Land of Spirits."

Naruto tilted his head, looking completely lost. He sat down across from Danny. "The Land of…Spirits?"

"It's a land constantly inhabited with spirits and ghosts."

Naruto gulped and turned pale. "Ghosts?"

Danny nodded, trying not to feel offended by his neighbor's reaction, it was the normal reaction. "Yeah, ghosts. Anyway, the Land of Spirits has its own distinct language, but we also learn the typical language in case we need to contact anybody from outside. However, we only knew how to speak it, and we never bothered learning how to read it."

Naruto nodded, his face filled with awe. He would have never thought that his neighbor's background was…well, for lack of a better word, weird. It must have been hard for Danny to get around without knowing how to read anything.

That last thought made the blonde frown. "Wait, you said you work, didn't you? How can you have a job when you can't read?"

"I do grunt work at Kimura's bookstore, like restocking shelves and picking up deliveries. Once I learn to read I can do cataloguing and stuff," Danny said.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "But…you're only eleven. Why do you need a job?"

At the question, his neighbor narrowed his eyes at him. Naruto was completely lost—What had he said that was so offensive?

Danny, trying to control his scowl, answered, "That's for me to know."

Naruto bristled at the stiff answer. "What's your problem? All I asked was why you needed a job."

Danny glared at the blonde, not liking the tone. "My problem is that you don't know when to mind your own business, so _drop it_." Ending the conversation, Danny opened his book and scowled at the text.

Naruto grit his teeth. "Fine! Why should I bother with some boring jerk like you anyway?"

The book in Danny's hands crumpled slightly, and the raven-haired felt a vein pulsate fiercely in his head. Naruto stormed off, angry at how the kid showed him the door.

Once the hybrid heard his neighbor get far away enough, he let out an annoyed gnarl. _'Stupid brat.'_

Yeah, he had been rude, but it wasn't uncalled for. That kid seriously didn't understand the concept of personal space. What gave him the right to keep asking questions like it was any of his business?

Danny passed both hands over his face in weariness. This was exactly why he didn't want to know anybody, they only ended up asking questions.

* * *

Naruto descended the stairs with his hands in his pockets, growling his own private diatribe.

"Dumb kid, I didn't ask anything wrong! What the hell is his deal? I be nice and try get to know him, and he acts like a jerk!"

Naruto continued to walk towards the end of the main area, lost in his rants, and shoved the doors forcefully. The doors swung open wildly with a loud creak, followed by a loud yell.

Grabbing his attention, Naruto stepped outside and found two ninja, one of them on the ground. Red curry stained the floor and clothes of the reclined ninja. By the looks of their attire, they were probably Chuunin.

The one that had been knocked down, a tall ninja with black hair and the typical green vest, glared at Naruto. Or half-glared—one of his eyes was covered in bandages.

"You twerp! Watch where you're going!"

Naruto felt his blood heat up; he was already in a bad mood, he didn't need this. "Shut up! It was just an accident!"

This was the wrong thing to say. Instantly Naruto felt his shirt collar get wrenched, and the ninja lowered at him.

"What did you say, you little—"

"Hey." His companion stopped him, looking at Naruto with recollection filling his eyes. "Don't you know who that is? It's _that kid_…" At this the Chuunin looked down at Naruto, processing that information.

'_Damn it…'_ Naruto cursed. Once they realized who he was, things got ugly. But he wasn't about to let them intimidate him.

"Yeah? So what if I am? I said I was sorry, just let me buy you another curry!"

Naruto pried the Chuunin's fingers open and began to walk away only to run into something soft. Looking up, he saw the Chuunin's buddy blocking him. Naruto heard a sneer behind him and turned around.

"You think you can get away just like that, freak? _I'll_ decide when I forgive you."

In a flash, the ninja punched Naruto, sending him a few feet onto the dirt. Naruto tried getting up, hissing several curses as he felt the entire left side of his face throb, until a hard kick to his gut sent him to his other side. He clenched his teeth, the nausea almost making him hurl. Two pairs of laugher rang out, and he felt somebody lift him and hold his arms back.

The Chuunin approached him with another fist ready. "What a pathetic excuse for a ninja. I'll show you what real shinobi can do."

* * *

Danny grumbled, still waiting in the empty classroom; Iruka-sensei hadn't returned yet. After that last quarrel with his neighbor, Danny tried to distract himself by reviewing his notes, but he couldn't concentrate—that kid had really annoyed him. Abandoning the book, he instead tried to calm himself by focusing on the quiet atmosphere the classroom provided.

The open windows provided an airy feel to the space, and he let himself get lost in the sounds of outside. He heard the rustling of leaves…the breezing of the wind…from really far away, he could hear some old men laugh—

"_Aaugh!_ You've really done it now, shrimp!"

Well, that didn't last long.

Danny's eye ticked. He got up, ready to close the window, when he heard the sound of someone getting hit, followed by a high-pitched voice that made Danny stop in his tracks.

"Is that the best you can do, huh? _You're_ the pathetic one!"

Danny froze, trying to process if he heard correctly, when another loud punch was heard. He ran to the window and saw a sight that made his mind stop.

Two ninja were surrounding Naruto, who was covered in bruises, swellings, and had a trail of blood running from his nose. One of the ninja was restraining the blonde, preventing him from retaliating, while the other—smiling sadistically—seemed to be giving the hits.

Danny saw red. He tensed, getting ready to intervene, but stopped when he remembered something.

"_Any act that is interpreted as harming a citizen of the Hidden Leaf Village violates your terms of residency," Iruka read from the small booklet. "Results of such actions include immediate expulsion."_

Damn it. Danny looked around and to his relief saw several bystanders walk by. Some of them paused in their conversation and looked at the scene…then continued walking. One of them seemed to smile at the sight.

The hybrid's blood boiled. _'What the hell is wrong with these people?'_ Enraged, he strained his ears and found the four heartbeats that followed him.

"Aren't you guys going to do anything?! They're beating up a kid!"

There was no response. Danny was about to yell when he heard his neighbor give out a painful scream. Turning back to the fight, Danny saw Naruto on the ground, trembling as he tried to get up. The Chuunin approached him and lifted his leg back.

Danny's eyes widened—he knew what the guy was about to do. Abandoning all thought and hesitation, he grabbed the edges of the window and thrust himself outwards.

The Chuunin smirked, about to send his foot onto the blonde's nose, when a loud slam to his right made him stop. He turned to the roof to see what it was when he felt a foot connect with his face. A loud snap was heard, and the ninja flew a few feet to the ground with a shout.

At the sound, Naruto opened his eyes to see what was happening. He felt the ground fall from beneath him.

'_D-Danny?' _

The Chuunin slowly picked himself up from the ground while his friend tried to figure out what just happened. The ninja looked in front of him to find a tall kid with ink-black hair and pale skin. But what made the Chuunin's blood run cold were his eyes—they were glowing a livid green, cutting through the Chuunin like knives. The ninja continued to lie on the ground, stunned, when he felt something wet stream down his chin. Touching a hand to his face, the ninja retracted it to find it stained with red. He snarled at the kid.

"_You damn brat!_" he screamed and charged towards Danny.

Naruto tried to get up but a foot stomped down on his back. Looking up, the blonde saw that the foot belonged to the Chuunin's friend.

"Stay down, freak. Your friend needs to learn his lesson."

The blonde scratched frantically at the dirt, thrashing under the Chuunin's weight. "_No!_ Leave him alone!"

Danny, never losing his glower, readied himself. The Chuunin descended upon him and threw a punch to the raven-haired's eyes, forcing all his strength into the blow…

Only for the kid to catch it effortlessly. There was a pause as the Chuunin tried to grasp what happened before Danny grabbed his entire arm and threw him over, slamming him into the ground.

Naruto and the other ninja gaped, not believing what they were seeing. A small, scrawny kid managed to flip a grown man onto the ground like a ragdoll.

Despite his back feeling like shattered glass, the Chuunin only grew more furious and sprang up to send a kick.

Danny reacted quickly and flipped back to dodge the roundhouse; the ninja continued to lunge at him, throwing him punch after punch, kick after kick. To his and everyone's surprise, Danny was able to deflect and dodge all of the blows, not once letting the guy get a hit on him. Danny himself was astonished; it turns out that all those years of fighting ghosts gave his human side some muscle as well. Compared to what he fought before, this guy didn't dish out that much.

Dodging a left blow, the hybrid ducked and swung his leg out, swiping the Chuunin's legs. The ninja fell to the ground with a hard thud, profanities issuing from his mouth, then leap out of the way of Danny's following jab.

Retreating back a few feet, the Chuunin bared his teeth at the boy, heaving labored breaths. There was no way a squirt could fight like this. By the looks of it, this kid didn't even seem to be a training shinobi.

The ninja gave a growl. There was no way in hell he was going to let some scrawny civilian humiliate him. He shot his hand into his shuriken pouch and withdrew a kunai, causing the others to look at him in alarm.

Naruto's eyes widened in horror while his captor looked at the Chuunin in shock. "Sadao, what are you doing? He's just a kid—!"

"Shut up!" the ninja roared. "I'm going to teach this damn brat what happens when he messes with me!" The Chuunin roared and lunged at Danny, who prepared himself for the attack.

Naruto was hysterical now, frantically trying to escape. "NO! STOP!"

In that instant, black cloaks surrounded the Chuunin and stopped him dead in his tracks. The Anbu immediately brought the ninja to the ground, confiscating his kunai and restraining him, while several more grabbed his friend and pulled him off Naruto. The blonde took a sharp intake of air, relieved that the weight crushing his lungs was gone, but his relief vanished as soon as he saw the Anbus grab Danny.

Naruto ran forward to stop them. "What are you doing?! He didn't attack me!"

The Anbu with the Hawk mask barely regarded him. "He attacked one of our own and therefore broke the conditions of his residency. He will be taken to the Hokage to receive his sentence."

Danny turned to the Anbu, livid. "Are you kidding me?! Those guys were beating him up and the rest of you just stood by and did nothing!" he yelled.

Naruto's face filled with outrage, sharing the same thoughts. "That's right! He was just defending me! That bastard was about to pull a kunai on him!"

The Hawk-Anbu grabbed ahold of Danny's arm. "This has nothing to do with you. This is a matter for the Hokage. Go back to your own business." With that all the Anbu disappeared in a flash, bringing the two Chuunin and Danny along with them.

There was silence as Naruto stood, fists clenched, his entire frame trembling. No, he wasn't going to stand around. Danny had risked his own well-being to protect him. Naruto grit his teeth—Screw the Anbu, he was going to help his friend.

With a loud shout, Naruto took to the rooftops, flying with great speeds to the Hokage residence.

* * *

Read &amp; Review.


	6. Chapter 6: A New Recruit

Whew! Finally finished! Another looooooong chapter (see, I added an extra 'o' in there). It's a lot for one chapter, but I wanted to wrap up the introduction so that we could finally get to the main story line. Thanks again for all the reviews and constructive crit!

* * *

Chapter 6: A New Recruit

Strings of curses left Danny's mouth as the Anbu brought him to the same circular building from when he first arrived. The masked ninja were restraining him as he writhed in their grasp, completely infuriated. Having had enough, Hawk sharply jabbed the boy's shoulder, painfully pressing one of his pressure points, with Danny giving a painful yelp.

"Stop struggling, or I'll do worse."

Danny, getting over the ache, glowered at the Anbu. "For what? I was stopping someone from getting _assaulted!_"

"You also attacked one of our own villagers."

"Because nobody else would help him! What the hell are you guys around for, anyway?!"

Hawk growled. "The Anbu Black-Ops are responsible for neutralizing and eliminating any threats to the Hidden Leaf Village. We only get directly involved if the threat is serious."

Danny fumed under the veiled accusation. "What a load of crap! You talk about protecting your home, but you won't even lift a finger to help one of your villagers getting beat up in front of you!"

Thankfully, the appearance of the familiar wooden doors prevented Hawk from tearing the kid a new one. Releasing their holds on the teen, the rest of the Anbus waited outside as Danny and Hawk both entered alone. They were immediately met with the Hokage's perturbed, and slightly angry, expression.

"Daniel, the Anbus have informed me that you attacked one of our shinobi. You know that this is a violation of our terms."

Danny narrowed his eyes at the elder. "Did they also inform you that one of your 'shinobi' was attacking a villager?"

The Hokage stiffened, and his frown grew. "They have. Who was it?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Hiruzen's eyes widened, but his shock didn't last long as he turned to Hawk with a heated expression, not happy that this information was left out. "Is that so?"

Hawk was silently cursing; the brat had beaten him in relaying this information to the Hokage, and now it appeared as if he was encouraging the fight with his lack of intervention. "Hokage-sama, we were going to give you a more comprehensive report once we apprehended the foreigner."

That didn't appease the elder. "Why didn't you intervene?"

Hawk looked at him in confusion. "While it is true that the Chuunin was assaulting one of our own, he does not pose a serious danger. The Anbu Black-Ops cannot deal with every triviality and brawl that occurs in the village."

The Hokage passed a hand over his face, aggravated by the ninja's cold logic. "Hawk, _any_ one or two Anbus to stop the fight would have been fine. This entire situation could have been prevented."

Hawk bristled, not liking how the blame was starting to shift to him. "Hokage-sama, we have also found that the boy kept information from us. While fighting the Chuunin, he displayed combat skills that no ordinary civilian should possess." He turned to Danny, and the hybrid didn't need to see the masked man's face to know he was glaring. "How do you explain that?"

Hiruzen turned to the boy with a grave face. "You did not tell us that you had prior experience in battle."

Danny clenched his fists, the pounding in his head making his frustration worse. "Can't somebody know how to defend themselves? Everyone in my homeland knew how to fight!"

The Hokage's frown grew by a fraction as he calmly placed his hands on the desk. "It does not change the fact that you withheld information from us. It begs the question of whether you kept other knowledge from us…as well as whether your story is true."

Danny fell silent. Damn it, so much for starting a new life.

Hiruzen sighed and brought his hands to his mouth, hating himself for what he was about to do. "I am sorry, but from this point on, you are exiled from—"

"OOOLD MAAAN HOKAAAAAGE!"

Every head turned toward the direction of the deafening scream, only to see the doors almost flung off their hinges. A frantic Naruto burst into the room with three cursing Anbu hanging onto him. They landed in a heap on the floor, with the blonde writhing under their weight. One of the struggling Anbu turned to the Hokage.

"I-I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," he grunted as he tried to maintain his hold on the boy. "We tried to stop him from entering, but he managed to push his way through the other agents."

Naruto was fuming from underneath the ninja. "Let me go, you idiots! I have something to say!"

Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose, wanting the chaos to just end. "Let him speak."

The three Anbu released the blonde, who jumped up and subsequently gave them a dirty look. Slightly winded, he joined Danny and pointed at him, causing the latter to become perplexed.

"O-Old Man Hokage," Naruto panted, "Don't punish Danny! It wasn't any of his fault! I was the one who made those two Chuunin angry!"

Although his expression didn't change, the Hokage was surprised at what the blonde was doing. But then again, it was understandable. For his entire life, Naruto lived in Konoha without the attention of anybody besides his senseis and the elder himself. To finally have someone that truly acknowledges him must have meant the world to the boy.

Hawk turned to Naruto sharply, not deterred by his words. "It is not a matter of whose fault it was or not. This boy attacked one of our residents and broke his terms of residency. He will be exiled from the village."

Naruto turned to him, horror on his face. "No! He didn't do anything wrong! He was trying to protect me!" Naruto whipped his gaze to the Hokage. "Old Man, you can't let them do this!"

Hiruzen pressed his jaw, cursing inside. Of course he didn't want to do this. He also believed that the boy did the right thing. But right now, things weren't working in the youth's favor; there was no way the Council would let him off scot-free after this incident.

"Naruto, I know you are upset, and I do believe that Daniel had the best intentions, but he still broke one of our laws and withheld information from us. There is little that can be done—"

"NO!" Naruto yelled, completely outraged. "I won't let you banish my friend!"

Danny turned to the blonde with wide eyes.

Naruto breathed harshly and gritted his teeth. Despite his heated expression, there was desperation in his eyes. "Please, Hokage-sama, don't kick my only friend out. He doesn't treat me like everyone else. He respects me."

The room went silent as each individual waited for the Hokage's answer. Hiruzen was speechless. He had seen the two boys meet, and he had been glad that Naruto found somebody his age that didn't shun him, but he didn't know how attached the blonde grew to the tall boy.

Hiruzen's heart weighed heavily. _'I can't take away the first friend he's ever made…But it'll only cause more division with the Council if I let the boy stay. Unless…'_

After a few minutes in thought, the Hokage straightened and looked at the others in the room.

"I will discuss this matter with the Civilian Council. I believe there is a way that we can have Daniel stay with us."

Naruto's face lit up, while Danny and Hawk stared in shock at the elder.

Hawk took a step forward. "Hokage-sama, are you—"

"Yes, Hawk," the Hokage turned sternly to the Anbu, "Keep in mind that the boy wasn't the only one who acted rashly in this situation."

At the reprimand, Hawk deflated slightly, and the Hokage stood and turned to the two boys. "You two will wait in the next room while I negotiate with the Council. Do not attempt to leave, as I will have the Anbu guarding the perimeters of the room." The elder's gaze fell to the floor, his expression oddly filled with regret. "I will…see if they approve of the terms."

* * *

The room was silent as they waited in the quaint office, with neither person looking or uttering a word to each other. Naruto had seated himself on one of the cushioned seats propped against the wall, while Danny opted to stand, as he was too nervous to sit down.

Sure, the Hokage seemed certain that he could convince the board—or council, or whatever—in letting him stay, but still, the odds weren't in his favor. That much was true after the hybrid failed to persuade even the elder to let him stay. He would've gotten exiled on the spot if it hadn't been for his neighbor.

Danny furrowed his brow and glanced from of the corner of his eye at the other person in the room. The blonde was sitting silently, posture slumped, and determined to look anywhere but the hybrid. Danny shifted uneasily, not sure what to do or say. Well, saying thanks would be a start, but the hybrid's own confusion of the situation kept him silent.

He couldn't make sense of why the kid would go to such lengths to help him. They only knew each other for two weeks, and yet the kid considers him a friend. Yeah, he didn't hesitate to help his neighbor, but that was only the right thing to do, right—?

"…Why?"

The voice caused Danny to tense; it was the first time the silence was broken in the room. He turned his head, fully looking at his neighbor. "Why, what?"

Naruto gazed at the ground, still refusing to look at the hybrid. "You…were angry with me, and those two…they could have really hurt you." He turned his head up a fraction. "But why? Why did you protect me?"

For a minute, Danny just stared at his neighbor, before he affixed him with a hard look. "Because they were hurting you, and I wasn't going to just sit by. Somebody needed to help."

The blonde continued looking at the ground, his posture slumping further as familiar waves of loneliness emerged. "Yeah, but nobody ever does. Nobody had ever protected me."

Now, that got Danny concerned. The sincerity that the blonde admitted those words left no room that the kid was exaggerating, but that couldn't be the case. And yet…

The hybrid frowned and pressed his lips as he ran through all of his past interactions with his neighbor. The kid was stubborn in following him…he claimed that nobody had ever defended him…

_'Come to think of it, I never saw anybody else leave that apartment…'_ Danny's eyes widened.

"You…don't have any family."

His neighbor remained silent, and Danny's heart weighed down in empathy and guilt. So that was why the kid was so adamant in getting to know him; judging by the behavior of the villagers he'd seen so far, Danny was probably one of the few, if only, people that didn't give the blonde the cold shoulder. His neighbor was completely alone. And Danny understood that pain all too well.

Danny sighed. "…That makes two of us."

At that, Naruto fully faced his neighbor. _'What?'_

He saw the taller boy lean against the wall behind him, absentmindedly crossing his arms and staring at the floor. "My family was killed right in front of me…and I wasn't strong enough to save them." The raven-haired's face hardened. "When I saw those two guys hurting you, it only reminded me…of how I couldn't protect them. I can't _stand_ seeing…somebody get hurt again."

Naruto continued to regard his neighbor in shock. The kid was just like him…he was alone, with no family…but unlike him, the kid went out of his way to avoid everybody. Because he was afraid of failing again…and that nettled the blonde.

Naruto fixed his neighbor with a glare. "Well, you were able to protect me, weren't you?" He ignored his neighbor's questioning look. "I wasn't strong enough to help you against those guys, but I came back to defend you, didn't I?"

Danny glared right back at the blonde, getting what he was implying. "You don't know what you're talking about. My entire family was depending on me to save them, _and I couldn't_." His hands tightened around his arms. "I don't want to fail anybody again."

"I don't think you believe that you will. If you did, you would've gotten someone else to help me, instead of yourself."

Danny turned to the blonde with an irate scowl and opened his mouth to retort, to say that the circumstances were different, but his words failed as he realized that what his neighbor said was somewhat true. He turned away in a huff. "You're a stubborn pain in the ass."

Naruto only gave a foxy smile, too pleased at his victory to be ticked off at the insult. "So are you, get used to it. We're friends."

Danny couldn't help it. He felt the corners of his mouth lift, the burden in his chest lifting at the blonde's loyalty. It brought feelings of warmth and nostalgia, feelings that existed before the accident…like being with Sam and Tucker again. The hybrid closed his eyes as he reprimanded himself. The whole point of coming to this world was to start fresh, to have a second chance, and yet he was still allowing his past to prevent him from doing just that. The hybrid glared—it was that kind of thinking that caused Dan to emerge. Things could be different here, he won't fail anybody again.

Danny heaved a surrendering sigh. "Alright then."

Naruto dropped his stubborn demeanor, curious to hear what his neighbor would say. He was surprised when the taller boy approached him and extended a hand towards him. "We're friends."

For a while, Naruto didn't move, then felt his cheeks pinch as a radiant smile spread throughout his face. He smirked and eagerly clasped the hybrid's hand. "You better believe it, dattebayo! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage!"

"And I'm Daniel Fenton, the guy who just saved you from getting your ass kicked."

To Danny's pleasure, the blonde's smile instantly vanished and was replaced with a piqued scowl.

"Hey! I was the one who saved _your ass_ from getting kicked out of the village!"

Danny's face turned stony. "We don't know if that's true, yet."

The irritation in Naruto vanished as he was dropped back into the reality of the situation by the statement.

As if on cue, the doors opened, and the Hawk-Anbu entered and turned to Danny. "The Hokage and Council request your presence." Seeing Naruto getting up from his seat, he clarified, "Just him."

Naruto crossed his arms, his stubborn glare reappearing. "I'm going with him. Just try and stop me."

Hawk growled, not wanting to deal with this. "Fine, do whatever you want." With that, the two preteens left the room and followed the shinobi, having once again fallen silent.

* * *

"We have reached a conclusion on the permission of your residence." The Hokage's gruff voice held Danny's rapt attention as he stood in front of the council, though he was finding it hard not to squirm under the daggers the other members were shooting him.

The Hokage fixed the hybrid with a rigid stare. "We will let you stay…but on one condition."

From his spot behind his neighbor, Naruto's face brightened in relief, but found that the raven-haired didn't share his sentiments.

Danny gave a heated glare to the members. "What condition?"

The Hokage's old face creased, regret filling him at the burden he was about to place on the boy. "You must enlist yourself to be a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village."

Danny's face instantly lost all its force. Anxiety filled his body as he processed what the elder had said. "No, there has to be something else I can do."

The older man gently shook his head. "I'm sorry, these are the only terms the Council and I can agree on."

Danny looked at the elder in near desperation, not understanding how they could suddenly arrive to such a decision. In the short time he was in the village, he learned of what the shinobi did. They were capable of performing feats that Danny admitted were amazing, but in the end it was all just to do one thing: to defend in times of war—which meant killing people.

Danny adamantly shook his head. "What's the whole point of me becoming a ninja? What does that prove?"

The Hokage straightened as he explained, "The shinobi risk their lives everyday protecting and serving their village. By becoming a ninja, you affirm your loyalties."

Danny continued to shake his head. "I'm sorry, I can't accept those terms." He dug his nails into his palms as old images of fire and hot gravel resurfaced in his memory. "I came to this village to escape the pain of losing my family. I can't bear to see anybody else die in front of me."

The Hokage's hands clamped tighter around each other as pity weighted on his heart. "We cannot provide any other options, I am sorry." It was true; it had taken a painfully long time to convince the other members to let the boy stay as a shinobi. Hiruzen could understand the council's wariness; with the recent history of attacks and ambushes by other hidden villages, anybody would be distrustful of newcomers to the village. It was only when Hiruzen suggested it as a means of closer observation on the boy that they agreed.

However, the elder's conscience was berating him for not finding other alternatives. The boy had lost his family, and from what Iruka said, he shows no interest in interacting with others. With these factors, Hiruzen wasn't sure that the boy would last long in this type of occupation.

From next to him, Naruto plainly saw his neighbor's distress, and his entire body weighted down in guilt. It was his fault that his friend was being threatened with exile. If he hadn't provoked those two Chuunin, they wouldn't have retaliated and Danny wouldn't have intervened. The Hokage said that there was no other option, but maybe he could convince him otherwise?

Naruto straightened as he faced the elder. "Old man, can't you—"

"I'll do it."

Naruto's head snapped to the raven-haired, as did everyone else's. _'What?'_

Danny took a deep breath, looking as if he was swallowing a rock. "I'm not happy that this is the only way to let me remain. But I don't have any other choice—this is my only home now." He shoved his hands into his pockets, not meeting anybody's gaze. "I will train to be a shinobi and prove my intentions."

Naruto didn't move, shocked at his neighbor's sudden change of heart, while the Hokage solemnly smoothed out his composure.

"Very well, then you may stay in the Hidden Leaf Village. You will begin your training at the Academy tomorrow." The elder paused. "Good luck."

Danny nodded and gave a small bow, then turned to follow the Anbu out of the room. Naruto hesitated, then followed silently. Soon, the two set foot under the night, the sun having set a while ago. Both didn't move for a bit, each ruminating on the massive turn of events that transpired.

Naruto clenched his fists, trying to quell the sting of his conscience. "D-Danny…" To his surprise, he felt a firm hand rest on his shoulder, and he looked up in surprise to see Danny's consoling face looking back at him.

"Listen, don't worry about it. None of this was your fault."

Naruto looked away, his doubt telling him otherwise. But before he could say anything else, he felt Danny's hand lift, and he turned to see his neighbor indicating towards the street. "We should…probably be getting home now."

Naruto nodded absentmindedly and soon the two walked back slowly, eventually reaching their respective apartments.

* * *

The loud creak of the door echoed throughout the apartment, muffling the despondent sigh that escaped Danny's lips. Making his way to the kitchen, he found his books lying on the table, reminding him that he had forgotten them in Iruka's classroom. He was a little ticked that the Anbu's had entered his apartment so freely, but it didn't seem that they touched anything else. Not bothering to change out of his clothes, Danny collapsed onto the single bed and adjusted himself to face towards the ceiling as he ran through his meeting with Clockwork earlier.

_He tightened his jaw, trying to keep his emotions under control as the elder continued to talk, but the words went by him unregistered._

_No, he can't be a ninja or shinobi, he didn't agree to this when he came here. Shinobi were supposed to protect their village…to fight enemies…to kill…_

_Just like _him_. The whole point of him moving to a new dimension was to prevent Dan from happening, to prevent anymore innocent lives from being lost. If he became a shinobi, then his promise would be lost._

_He didn't know anything else about this world, but he _did_ know that there were other Hidden Villages besides this one. Maybe he'd have better luck if he moved to one of those. He wasn't sure where he'd end up, but if it meant not being a shinobi—_

_"I wouldn't advise on doing that."_

_The hybrid nearly jumped in shock, and spun around and was met with greater shock. The Master of Time was floating behind him—in the Council room. In front of everyone. Danny wheeled around and sighed in relief when he saw that all of the individuals were frozen, only now realizing the shifting weight of a Time Medallion on his neck. Danny turned to Clockwork with a glower._

_The Time Ghost bowed his head in apology. "I understand that when I said I would visit you, we were both expecting it to be in less…complicated circumstances."_

_"Complicated?" Danny said, not lessening his glare. "Clockwork, I'm being put in the same situation from when I left Amity Park! I'd be better off in another village!"_

_"No, you wouldn't," said Clockwork with narrowed eyes. "Among other reasons, I chose this village for you because it is the most developed, both politically and ethically. The other villages wouldn't offer you the same reception and opportunities that this one has."_

_"Opportunities?!" Danny nearly yelled. "They're asking me to become a soldier! To kill people! How is that any different from what Dan is?!"_

_Clockwork closed his eyes with a stony expression. "It's not. Killing threats to protect their village is the norm for a shinobi." Clockwork sighed and looked at the hybrid with an almost matter-of-fact expression. "But the last time I checked, you don't exactly follow the norm, do you?"_

_Danny fell silent at that. Seeing the some of the tension drop in the hybrid's posture, Clockwork continued._

_"You've protected your own town from seemingly insurmountable threats, and you've shown yourself _more_ than capable of finding other solutions to a problem. Here, you can inspire others to do the same."_

_The hybrid still didn't answer. Clockwork's face grew grave as he continued to speak._

_"You've said that you weren't powerful enough to protect your family. Don't you believe that, in some way, this is a chance to grow stronger to protect others?" The Time Ghost's eyes filled with concern. "You don't consider this village to be your home, and it will never replace what Amity Park meant to you. But the people here hold many things dear, especially each other."_

_Danny only looked down, still silent, but in thought. No, nobody deserved to go through what he did. In the past two weeks he had lived here, Danny could see that every single man, woman, and child in the Hidden Leaf village loved their home and valued each other. Should there be something that he was capable of fighting…it was sort of what Naruto said—he didn't fully believe that he was incapable of protecting others._

_The hybrid finally looked at the Time Ghost, and the elder nodded, understanding his decision. With a click of his staff, the stream of time was restored, and Danny turned to face the discussing Council._

_"I'll do it."_

Danny opened his eyes a fraction, snapping him out of his reverie. Focusing his attention on the light seeping through the closed blinds, he let the cool violets wrap around his mind, drifting him off into sleep.

* * *

The day started with the blonde stepping out of his apartment, getting ready to take his usual route to the Academy. Looking up, he could see that the sky was covered in a cloud blanket, effectively blocking out any strong morning rays trying to break through. It didn't look that thick, so it should clear up pretty soon.

The blonde started to walk down the terrace and hesitated at the adjacent door, debating whether to knock or not. After all the trouble he caused for his neighbor, he wasn't sure if Danny wanted to see him, even if they were on friendlier terms. The kid had assured him that it wasn't his fault, but Naruto still couldn't shake the feelings of guilt that had bothered him since.

His wavering was cut short when the door opened, with his slightly tousled but awake neighbor standing at the entryway.

Danny blinked at seeing the blonde right outside his door. "Oh, hey…Ready to get going?"

Naruto was taken aback slightly by the question, but he recomposed himself. "Uh, sure, it's this way."

If yesterday's walk was uncomfortable, it was nothing compared to the new level of awkwardness that this one reached. Danny was finding it more and more difficult to not rub the back of his neck as the silence stretched on. The events of yesterday seemed to have put both of them back on square one. To add to his uneasiness, the hybrid was also feeling guilty for holding his neighbor back; the last time he saw his neighbor go to class, the blonde was capable of flying through the rooftops like a dart. He shouldn't have to go through the trouble of waiting for him.

Danny cleared his throat. "Um, you can go ahead, if you want." At his neighbor's questioning gaze, he continued, "I know that you can get there fast, so don't let me hold you back."

Understanding what his neighbor was worried about, Naruto quickly shook his head. "No, no, I'm fine. I'm not running late or anything." Naruto looked at the ground and bit his lip. "…Besides, it's nice to walk with someone for a change."

_'You prefer _this_ to walking alone?'_ Danny restrained himself from voicing that thought and scolded himself for his tactlessness. Again, he found himself concerned at what the orange ninja had been through. The two continued to walk to the Academy in the same tense atmosphere, and finally they made it through the main doors of the facility.

Here, Danny turned away from his neighbor and gestured down the hall. "I need to go to the main office, so…I'll catch up with you later."

Naruto nodded. "Right, see you soon." The shorter preteen turned, climbed up the set of stairs to the second floor, and entered the classroom, taking his usual seat near the entrance. He groaned, ashamed of his inadequacy to properly apologize to his neighbor for all the trouble he caused. He just didn't know how to broach such a sensitive topic. Still, he could tell that Danny felt just as lost as he did, and that offered him some consolation, in a weird way.

Iruka's professional voice brought the blonde's attention back to the present. "Alright, everybody take a seat. I'd like to introduce a new student joining us today."

The room filled with whispers, everyone curious as to who was joining the Academy at such a late time. Iruka waited for the louder murmurs to die down before he gestured to someone at the door, and Naruto saw his neighbor enter the room, hands in pockets and avoiding eye contact. Everyone's attention turned to the tall boy, taking in the newcomer's appearance, with a few in the female population blushing.

"This is Daniel Fenton." A few people snickered at the name, but quickly stopped once they saw Iruka's glare. "He is not from the Hidden Leaf Village, so I expect all of you to make him feel welcome. Daniel, would you like to say something?"

Danny only gave an indifferent look before saying, "Yeah, call me Danny." With this Danny left the front of the class, eager to get away from being the center of attention. Looking around, he found his orange neighbor, and made his way over to the unoccupied seat adjacent to the blonde. This action earned a few surprised looks by the other classmates, while Naruto smiled, elated.

Iruka stared at the two in wonder, before a smile of his own crept onto his lips. It turns out that those two finally found a friend. Getting back to his lesson, Iruka addressed the rest of the class. "Alright, your taijutsu session is first today. Everybody gather outside in the courtyard."

* * *

The class assembled in the training courtyard outside for their daily taijutsu session; it was a pretty big space, about the size of a small soccer field. Like Naruto predicted, the cloud cover cleared to show an invigorating blue, and soon the fresh morning air made the students bustle and chatter excitedly. Danny smiled slightly. The scene reminded him of gym class in elementary school—well, without the bullies.

"Okay," Iruka said, gaining everyone's attention. "Today we'll be doing random assignments. I will pick the names out of my kunai pouch." He then turned to Danny. "The Hokage told me you had prior experience in combat, yes?"

Danny shrunk a little at once again being shoved into the spotlight. To his horror, Naruto answered for him—_loudly_.

"Are you kidding me? He's _amazing!_ You should have seen him against those—OW!"

Cursing, Danny quickly smacked the blonde upside the head to silence him. His neighbor responded with a scowl as he clutched his head, while the rest of the class stared at the hybrid, confused as to why the new kid was interacting with Naruto Uzumaki.

Iruka cleared his throat, unperturbed by the interruption. "Right, let's get started. The first two will be…" The Chuunin pulled out two slips of paper and scanned the names. "…Kiba Inuzuka…and Masaru Ueda.

Two boys approached the center of the field, one strangely with a puppy on his head, and faced each other. At Iruka's signal (and after the boy had set the dog down), the sparring began, with the pair of combatants lunging at each other and delivering well-placed blows, skillfully evading the other. The rest of the matches continued in a similar manner, with some of the matches ending under five minutes and others ending under one. Unfortunately, Naruto's spar fell into the latter category.

The blonde was seething as he made his way to join his neighbor, grumbling incoherently, with the words "next time" and "lucky bastard" being the most discernible. His neighbor looked at him with a raised brow.

"Aren't you being a little hard on yourself? You guys do this everyday, don't you?"

Naruto opened his mouth, ready to say that it didn't make losing any better, before Iruka's voice cut him off.

"Next…Daniel Fenton! And…Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Huh?" Both boys turned to their teacher with equal looks of puzzlement, but instantly flinched at the ensuing masses of feminine squeals and cheers.

"Saaaasuke~!"

"It's Saaasuke~!"

"He's so cool!"

"He's amazing!"

Rubbing his sensitive ears, Danny turned to see a boy a few inches shorter than him enter the field. He had onyx-black eyes and hair that spiked out in the back, with both sides of his face framed by chin-length bangs that parted down the middle. The kid wore a black short-sleeved shirt with a high collar, white shorts, and navy-blue sandals. The boy barely regarded Danny as he waited.

Danny turned to Iruka, an uncertain look on his face. "Wait, I need to fight him?"

Iruka nodded and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, it's your first battle. I'm sure Sasuke will go easy on you."

"It's not that, it's…" Danny hesitated. He didn't feel too crazy about hitting a kid, let alone fighting one.

Danny suddenly felt a series of hard, enthusiastic pats rattling his back, and he turned to see the source was Naruto, grinning like an idiot. "Don't worry about it! We do this everyday, so go ahead!"

Danny deadpanned at the blonde, then sighed and made his way to the court. While Danny's back was turned, Naruto shot the Uchiha an evil grin.

Catching the expression, Sasuke narrowed his eyes. _'What's with that look?'_ Deciding to ignore the twerp, he turned his attention to his opponent, who finally decided to step up. The new kid was taller than him by a few inches and had a pretty lanky build—not exactly the body type of a training shinobi. In fact, the kid's entire posture basically declared, _'I don't want to do this.' _

Sasuke gave out a sigh. This was going to be a short fight.

Iruka raised his hand. "Alright, same rules! No weapons allowed, only hand-to-hand! The match ends when a person hits the ground!" He swiped his hand down. "Begin!"

Right away, Danny and Sasuke assumed defensive stances and circled each other, watching each other like hawks. Danny readied himself. Kid or not, he wasn't about to underestimate him. Besides, he only needed to bring the kid to the ground.

In the background, the Uchiha's fan girls continued to cheer and support their infatuation with hearts in their eyes.

"Go Sasuke!"

"Yeah, you can beat this kid! No sweat!"

Naruto looked at the cheerers, not liking how they were underrating his friend. He brought his hands to his mouth. "Go Danny! You can do it!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Contrary to how the kid looked, he moved like he had experience. He'll have to raise his guard…but still, he didn't need to be too cautious—he wasn't at the top of his class for nothing.

Deciding to get the momentum started, Sasuke shot forward and swung his body, aiming a kick to the side of the raven-haired's head. Seeing it coming, his opponent brought his arm up to block it. Sasuke smirked. He pushed against the kid's arm, using the force to swing his other leg at him.

Danny readily back-flipped, putting some distance between him and the kid. It turned out to be pointless, as the kid flashed in front of him again and began a series of skillful jabs and kicks, most of which Danny was able to block or dodge deftly.

Sasuke grit his teeth as he continued his barrage of strikes, still not nailing a decent blow. He underestimated this kid—he was _good_.

On the other end, Danny was impressed. Compared to the other kids, this guy was on a level of his own. Still, it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle. Seeing a well-aimed punch coming his way, Danny waited and neatly side-stepped, dodging the hit at the last second. Before the kid could react, he fluidly pivoted his body behind his opponent, and raised his leg to the kid's back.

It all happened so fast. Before Sasuke could swing his arm to elbow the kid, his entire body flew forward as a hard kick struck the middle of his shoulder blades. He felt a pair of hands grab his arm, and the next thing he knew, he felt dirt on his face, his body having nearly been slammed onto the ground. The Uchiha tried to get up, but a sharp pain in his left arm stopped his efforts; the kid had locked his dominant arm to prevent him from getting up, and even placed a firm knee on the Uchiha's back to ensure he'd stay down.

Silence filled the courtyard. There were no cheers, no chatter, not even footsteps. Everyone, including the Uchiha fan-club, looked at the scene with bombshelled looks. Even Iruka was stunned at the outcome—the Hokage had said that the boy was adept in combat, but he didn't think he was _this_ adept. The boy's taijutsu skills were easily Chuunin-level, maybe even high-Chuunin.

Ironically, in the midst of disbelief, it was Naruto who snapped out of his shock the fastest, and was instantly filled with conflicting feelings of elation and irritation. _'Hell yeah! He actually beat Sasuke! But damn it, how the hell did he do it? He made it look so easy, damn it!'_

Danny, still maintaining his hold on the kid, blinked at the complete absence of noise. He turned to his teacher with a questioning look. "So, is the fight over, or…?"

Iruka started and flushed, the question snapping him out of his surprise. "Uh, y-yes, sorry. The winner of this fight is Daniel Fenton."

Yells of disbelief (mostly feminine) immediately followed the declaration.

"Ehhhhhh!?"

"H-he beat _Sasuke?_ But how?"

"No way! Rematch!"

Danny felt his eye twitch, but otherwise ignored the cries as he released his opponent. The kid got up from the ground, revealing his entire front covered in dirt. The hybrid reddened—he might have overdone it.

"Um, good match," he began, trying to word some form of apology. "You really know how to fight."

The kid—Sasuke—gave Danny a cold look. He 'tsked' and looked away. "Whatever."

Danny kept his face composed, not letting his annoyance get the better of his features. The kid was probably trying to get back at him for hurting his pride, but Danny wasn't going to give him the desired response. What was this kid's deal? He acted like losing was a sin.

After Iruka had them perform the Seal of Reconciliation—after demonstrating it to Danny—the hybrid went back to join Naruto, who was smiling brightly at him. This time, Danny noticed that along with confused looks, there were glares that followed him. Great.

"That was awesome!" Naruto said, nearly bouncing in happiness. "Who knew that you could beat Sasuke!"

Danny frowned, not getting what his neighbor meant. "Who _exactly_ is Sasuke?"

"He's the top kid in our class."

Danny's expression and posture completely dropped. _Now_ he understood the strange silence from his victory…and the kid's reaction.

Naruto continued on, not noticing his neighbor's demeanor. "And he's always acting so smug about it! It's _always_ about him, and he keeps hogging all the attention!" The blonde looked around, then edged closer to the hybrid, much to the latter's confusion. "Listen, can you teach me how to fight like that? Please?" he whispered.

Danny deadpanned at him, seeing through his neighbor's intentions. "If you want help in hand-to-hand combat, then the answer is yes, but if you only want my help just to beat some kid you don't like, then the answer is no."

Naruto slumped, and looked at the ground, slightly ashamed. "Well…I still want to beat Sasuke, but…my taijutsu needs some work, too."

Danny nodded. "Then I'll help you with your…taijutsu." Remembering what he learned about his neighbor yesterday, Danny realized that the blonde needs more than just practice—he needs support. Gaining a firm look, the hybrid turned to his friend. "If you need help with anything, I've got your back."

For a minute, Naruto stared at his neighbor in awe. Then, his mouth formed a soft smile. "Thanks, Danny."

With that, the two shinobi-in-training watched the rest of their classmates spar, then went back inside to begin their other classes. It continued like that for the rest of the day. And a year.

* * *

And with that, the introduction is finished. As always, Read &amp; Review, and hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up soon.


	7. Chapter 7: Enter Naruto Uzumaki!

Finally, we get to the main storyline! I apologize beforehand if there's any errors, as I wrote this chapter in kind of a rush. I won't be able to update for a long time (say, two months?) because I'll be staying somewhere where there's no Internet. Besides that, thank you for all the criticism and encouraging words!

One more question: Are the chapters too long?

* * *

Chapter 7: Enter Naruto Uzumaki!

The purple-clad ghost glided across the stone floor, seemingly at peace among the thousands of clicks and whirs that filled his home. The Time Ghost stopped in front of the mirror-like portals, and with a small wave of his hand, one of the circles changed to a sunny Konoha. It has been a while since he last visited Danny, and he wondered if anything new had happened.

Clockwork smiled as he saw an image of the hybrid appear on the screen. A lot has changed in a year.

The portal flashed and switched its view to a certain blonde carrying a can of paint. The Time Ghost's smile grew. Still, a lot hasn't changed.

* * *

"NARUTOO!"

"You're not going to get away with this anymore!"

Naruto laughed hysterically as he continued to dart across the rooftops, the paint can in his hand shaking wildly. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled proudly at the freshly painted Hokage monument before turning to his pursuers. "Shut up! You're just bent because you don't have the guts to do what I just did! I'm great!" he jeered.

Satisfied with their infuriated scowls, the blonde shot forward with the two shinobi hot on his trail, all three zooming around like flies.

* * *

"Third, we have an emergency!"

Hiruzen growled, almost letting his pipe slip out from his lips. He turned away from his calligraphy with a stern expression, already having an idea of what was going on. "What? Did Naruto do something again?"

"Yes! He put graffiti all over the stone faces of the Hokages!" the Jounin said.

"He vandalized them!" added the second.

The elder sighed wearily and felt the bitter smoke sting his nostrils. The day was already turning on a sour note.

* * *

"Stop! Come back here!"

The two shinobi dashed after the orange ninja as they finally reached solid ground, not noticing the slight distortion in the adjacent wooden fence.

Once he saw his pursuers turn the corner, Naruto let down his camouflage and laughed smugly. "Too easy."

However, he didn't notice the extra pursuer that had secretly trailed him.

"Hey Naruto!"

The blonde screamed, flailing several feet into the air, before he landed hard on his rear end. He looked up at the Chuunin with a shocked expression. "What are you doing here all of a sudden, Iruka-sensei?"

The young teacher, face full of disapproval, pointed an accusing finger. "What are _you_ doing during class?"

* * *

Naruto grumbled. The fibers of the rope were making his arms itch, and Iruka had wound the binds to prevent him from moving his arms.

He shouldn't have tried to make a run for it. The minute he had turned his back, Iruka grabbed ahold of him and tied him up on the spot, then lugged him back to the Academy where he was being lectured right now in front of everyone, including a certain raven-haired.

Danny sighed. The blonde had asked him if he wanted to get in on the act, but considering he was still on thin ice, the hybrid refused. In retrospect, he should have tried to dissuade his friend from carrying out the prank. But—Danny smirked—he had been looking forward to seeing the results.

The hybrid quickly wiped off his smirk when he heard Iruka's strict voice.

"I'm at the end of my rope, Naruto," Iruka scolded. "You failed the last graduation exam and the one before that! You shouldn't be fooling around like this!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, not perturbed in the least by his teacher's lecturing; he had more-or-less developed a habituated ear to them. With an indignant "hmph", the blonde turned his head away.

A vein pulsed in Iruka's temple, and the Chuunin turned towards the rest of the class. If the blonde wasn't going to take him seriously, then maybe he'll change his tune once his actions get his classmates involved.

"Fine! Because you _missed_ it, Naruto, everyone will retake the review test for the transformation technique! Those who already passed will have to retake it as well!"

Everybody groaned, with a few irate students grousing in protest, but the Chuunin would hear none of it. Soon, everybody lined up at the front of the room. Naruto untangled himself from the last few ropes and scratched his arms with a relieved sigh; still, it did nothing to quell his irritation. He made his way towards Danny, who was standing in the last half of the line.

Seeing the scowl, Danny decided to lighten his neighbor's mood a little. "So, how'd it turn out?"

Naruto grinned, glad somebody appreciated his work. "Great. You might still be able to see it when class ends."

"Stop talking!"

The two flushed, having been caught chatting during an exam. The test proceeded in the same manner as the last, with each student stepping up and transforming into Iruka as the teacher recorded their grades in a clipboard. Eventually, only two people stood in front of Danny: Sasuke Uchiha, and a girl with pink hair tied in a red ribbon.

The pinkette stepped up. "Sakura Haruno, going!" she proclaimed confidently, forming her hands into the appropriate seal. "Transform!" A cloud of smoke blew around her and in her place stood another Iruka.

Iruka smiled approvingly. "Good."

Sakura changed back, blushing with happiness. "Yes, I did it!" She turned to the next person in line. "Did you see that, Sasuke?" She didn't get an answer as the boy's name was called.

"Next, Sasuke Uchiha!" Without the slightest change in expression, the boy stepped up and repeated the same effect. "Alright. Next, Daniel Fenton."

Danny walked up, brought his hands together, and in a billow of smoke successfully transformed into his teacher.

Iruka smiled with a brow raised. "Nice work…though you made me a little taller."

Danny transformed back, blushing a bit. "Sorry, I'm still working on getting heights right."

"Don't worry about it. Next, Naruto Uzumaki!"

As Danny passed by, he gave Naruto a flash of a smile. The blonde nodded, knowing it was his neighbor's way of saying good luck. The other students, however, didn't share the same sentiments.

"This is a waste of time," Shikamaru told his orange classmate.

"This is all your fault," Ino added.

Naruto stepped forward, hands on his waist. "Like I care."

Unknown to him, a shy bluette watched, blushing and fiddling with her fingers. _'Naruto, do your best,'_ she wished silently.

Naruto formed the hand sign, summoning swirls of chakra around him. "Transform!"

In a cloud of smoke, Naruto transformed—not into Iruka—but into a beautiful, nude women with flowing blonde pigtails. The seductress, in her alluring pose, winked and blew a kiss at Iruka, who promptly crashed to the floor with a gushing nosebleed.

Danny looked at the scene stupefied. _'Yep, he's screwed.'_

Naruto transformed back, laughing hysterically. "Hahaha, how was _that_? I call it the seduction technique—"

"YOU IDIOT! DON'T INVENT SUCH A DUMB TECHNIQUE!"

* * *

"Dammit…dammit…"

Naruto swore under his breath as he scrubbed furiously at the stone surface. He shouldn't have used such bright paint…

"You're not going home until you clean it up good," Iruka said, monitoring his student.

Naruto glared at the Chuunin. "I don't care, it's not like there's anybody waiting for me at home." Immediately, the blonde bit his lip. No, that wasn't true. Danny always made sure he came home at night so that he didn't stay out overexerting himself.

Iruka-sensei had forbidden the taller boy from joining them, stating that he would only be a distraction. Naruto sighed; he hoped Danny got a good look at his handiwork.

"…Naruto."

The orange boy glared up again. "What is it now?"

The Chuunin wore a concerned look, Naruto's last words having affected him. "I was just thinking…If you clean all that up, I'll treat you to some ramen tonight. The good stuff." Iruka looked down, and he was met with a radiant grin coming from the blonde.

Naruto bared his teeth in excitement, forgetting all his earlier frustrations. "All right! I'll do my best then!"

* * *

It had taken a while for all the paint to come off, but in the end Naruto was able to rush through the task, giving him and Iruka plenty of time to eat at Ichiraku's. The blonde grabbed a fat stream of noodles with his chopsticks, slurping them with practiced speed.

Iruka watched, contemplating his words. "Naruto," he began, "Why did you vandalize the Hokage faces? You know who the Hokages are, right?"

Naruto tilted his bowl up, finishing the entire broth in a few gulps. "Of course I do. Those who carried the name of Hokage were the number one ninjas in the village, right? The best of the best?" He paused. "And the Fourth Hokage is a hero who protected the village from the Nine-Tailed fox."

Iruka got only more confused. "Then why did you…?"

"Because I'm going to be greater than any of them. Me, Naruto Uzumaki! I'm going to make everyone in the village recognize and look up to me!" Naruto said, then turned to his sensei with an appeasing smile. "By the way, Sensei, I have a favor to ask."

The older man stared, slurping a hanging noodle. "You want another bowl?"

The blonde shook his head, "No, can I try on your forehead protector?"

Although the question caught him off-guard a little, Iruka saw the opportunity to tease his student. He adjusted his headband. "This? No way, you can only wear the Leaf headband once you graduate school and become a real ninja. You've got to pass the test tomorrow." As expected, Naruto got petulant.

"That is so uncool!"

"Haha, is that why you took your goggles off?"

"Ahhh, I want another bowl!"

* * *

Naruto entered his apartment, feeling pleasantly drowsy after all the bowls of ramen he consumed. He began heading over to get ready for bed when a few knocks sounded on the door. Knowing who it was, Naruto opened the door and saw his neighbor.

The blonde grinned. "Did you see it?"

Danny rolled his eyes with a smile. "Don't worry, I did. I'm surprised you managed to get that much done before getting caught."

Naruto snickered, letting Danny come inside. "Yeah, those idiots are really slow. Although I probably shouldn't have used so much paint."

Danny rubbed the back of his head, feeling guilty. "Uh, yeah…Sorry I couldn't be there…"

The blonde shook his head, not mad in the least. "Don't sweat it. Iruka-sensei didn't want you to come, and I don't want you to get in trouble."

Danny frowned at his friend's words. "You're not still worrying about that, are you? It was a year ago, and I told you it wasn't your fault." When Naruto didn't respond, he gave a sigh. "What you should be worrying about is the exam tomorrow. Did you review everything?"

Naruto twitched, then quickly smiled to cover his slip-up. "Yep! I got everything taken care of!"

Danny gave him a look, not believing him. "What about the Clone Technique? Do you still need help with that?"

Naruto's face fell, and he looked away. "Er, I still have some trouble with that…but your advice really helped." He glanced sideways at Danny. "Can you give me those tips again?"

Danny resisted the urge to facepalm—of course he forgot. "The main idea behind the Clone Technique is dispelling your chakra to create a nontangible copy of yourself. It's sort of like transforming, but outside of your body."

Naruto nodded, more or less understanding. "Okay, that makes more sense."

Deciding not to put more stress on the blonde, Danny got up and stretched himself before turning towards the door. "Good luck, and get plenty of sleep."

Naruto nodded, bidding his friend goodbye. "Thanks, you too." Closing the door after his neighbor, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, running through Danny's advice as he did so. _'Okay, transforming…but outside of your body. I need to dispel my chakra to form a copy…Well, there's probably nothing to worry about. Iruka-sensei might pick a different technique to test us on.'_

* * *

"We will now start the final exam. If your name is called, come to the classroom next door. The subject will be the replication technique."

The blonde yanked at his hair, using all of his willpower to suppress the scream that shot up his throat. _'You have got to be kidding me!'_

From his seat, Danny had to resist facepalming again as he watched his neighbor. _'I knew I should have gone it over with him…' _

Naruto watched as the first few students, including Danny, left the room, the suspense racking on his nerves. Finally, when his name was called, he steeled himself as he walked into the examination room.

_'Get it together, Naruto! Remember, it's transforming, but outside your body!'_ Putting his hands together in the seal, Naruto felt waves of chakra surround him as he concentrated with all his might. Once he felt enough chakra released, he initiated the jutsu, instantly surrounding himself in billows of smoke.

Once the puffs cleared, he opened his eyes to find two copies of himself…with a slight issue. Both were sprawled on the floor like ragdolls, pale and for all intents and purposes looking completely brain-dead. Naruto and Iruka broke out in a cold sweat at the sight, with the latter recovering first.

"_You fail!_" the Chuunin yelled.

The words shot through the blonde like arrows as his face filled with pure horror. Iruka continued to look disgruntled before a smooth voice next to him got his attention.

"Iruka-sensei," Mizuki began, "his movements and stamina are good, and he _does_ seem to get the basic idea. With a little refinement he should be able to make appropriate copies. Maybe we can pass him."

Naruto's face lit up, thanking the heavens for the divine intervention. It didn't last long as Iruka's next words dragged him back to cold reality.

"Mizuki-sensei, the other students were able to produce at least three replications. But Naruto can only produce two that will merely be a bother." The teacher sighed, regretting himself for doing this. "I can't pass him."

Naruto clenched his teeth. He wanted to yell, to protest at the injustice and complete discrimination…but in the end he knew that his words would do nothing. Feeling his insides stir sickeningly, he walked out of the examination room, not meeting the gazes of the two teachers.

* * *

"I'm a real ninja now, right?"

"Good job! It's something I would expect from my son!"

"Congratulations on graduating! Mom is going to fix you something real nice tonight."

Naruto watched, his body swaying feebly with the swing's motions, the shade of the great tree surrounding his entire being. Loving compliments filled the bright air. None of them for him. The blonde stubbornly lowered his head as he felt his eyes prickle. No, he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of seeing him cry. But the waves of despair continued to shake through him, making his head drop further, his hands slide feebly down on the rope…

Something touched his back. Something warm…and understanding. Naruto looked to see his neighbor crouching down next to him, ice-blue eyes full of compassion and sorrow. The blonde looked away, his hands tightening around the cord as they regained strength.

Danny sat next to his neighbor in silence, offering the best support he could give. The hybrid didn't wear his headband; he knew it would only make his friend feel worse. Their presence—or rather one of their presences—didn't escape others' notice, however.

"Hey, it's that kid. He was the only one who failed," the woman muttered.

Her companion sneered in disgust at the blonde. "Hmph, serves him right."

"If he becomes a ninja, it's only going to cause trouble. Because he's really a—"

She never finished her sentence, as both she and her companion froze in fear. Danny, having heard everything with his hearing, turned his coldest, most menacing glare towards them. He was pretty sure his eyes were glowing, but he could care less—All the more to frighten them for saying such heartless things about his friend. The hybrid heard footsteps approaching, and both boys turned to see their silver-haired sensei join them. Seeing that Danny was distracted, the two women made a run for it.

Mizuki smiled kindly. "Mind if I see you for a bit?" Seeing the raven-haired getting up, he clarified, "Just Naruto, Danny. I want to talk with him alone."

Danny looked at his neighbor in concern, then gave a small hum and left the two alone. Naruto looked at his teacher, his expression curious.

The silver-haired Chuunin smiled. "Let's go somewhere more quiet."

Watching the two leave, Hiruzen addressed the Chuunin to his right.

"Iruka…I need to talk to you."

"… …Yes, sir."

* * *

Naruto and Mizuki sat on a jutting terrace near the top of the Academy, watching the sunset slowly hide behind the horizon. The sky was ablaze, the fiery hues casting all buildings and trees in different saturations of orange. The coziness of the atmosphere provided some alleviation for Naruto as he continued to listen to Mizuki with an absent expression.

"Iruka-sensei wasn't being mean," the Chuunin said.

Naruto grunted. "Then why does he pick on me the most?"

"He wants you to become truly strong, Naruto. But that will never happen if he goes easy on you." Mizuki paused. "He's like you, you know. No parents…no family…"

Naruto's face only stiffened. "But…this time I really wanted to graduate," he whispered.

At the response, Mizuki gave a quiet chuckle. "Heh, fine."

"Wha?" Naruto turned to the older man, astonished.

"I'll tell you a big secret."

Naruto continued looking at Mizuki, his eyes full of curiosity and hope. _'A secret…?'_ Did he really have another chance?

* * *

"Man…where is this guy?"

It was getting late, and Danny still hadn't heard the telltale signs of Naruto's quick footsteps signaling his return. He wasn't too crazy about leaving Naruto, especially when the blonde was so miserable, but he figured that Mizuki-sensei would be able to offer far better consolation than he would. Still, it shouldn't be taking them this long to come back.

Danny grunted as he grabbed the package of cookies from his cabinet. _'I sound like some doting parent. Naruto can take care of himself…for the most part.'_ Setting down some almond cookies and a glass of milk, Danny seated himself and took a swig of milk.

"DANNY!"

The raven-haired choked as the milk shot up the wrong pipe and through his sinuses with a burning sensation. He began coughing hysterically, thumping his chest to displace the liquid. Once he calmed down, he looked to see a frantic Iruka standing in his doorway, the Chuunin having almost broken the door off its hinges. Danny glared daggers at his teacher.

"Don't any of you people know how to knock?!" he yelled in a hoarse voice.

Iruka quickly approached his student, ignoring the reprimand. "Danny, where is Naruto?" he asked urgently.

Danny gave him a confused look. "Wasn't he with Mizuki-sensei? He hasn't gotten back yet." The hybrid was met with an agitated scowl.

"Where did he go?" the Chuunin hissed to himself. He turned to run out the door but was stopped by a strong grip. Iruka turned to see Danny giving him a hard glare.

"What happened?"

Iruka's face grew grave. "There is an entire search all over the village for Naruto. He has stolen the Scroll of Sealing."

Danny froze, but he didn't release his grip. He barely knew anything about the Scroll, but he did know that it was a highly-guarded document. Why the hell would Naruto steal that?

The raven-haired stared determinedly at his teacher. "I'm coming with you, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

The Chuunin hesitated, then gave a hard nod. After locking his door, Danny caught up with the teacher to search for his neighbor.

Elsewhere, Mizuki leapt through the dark rooftops, a malicious smirk dominating his entire countenance.

_'I'm going to spread the word throughout the village and kill Naruto. They'll be glad that that brat is gone. Then, the Scroll of Sealing will be mine!' _

Giving a crazed laugh, the Chuunin disappeared into the night.

* * *

Danny and Iruka sped through the forest, knocking down leaves and branches in their path. Danny grit his teeth; he couldn't hear anything with the noises of running and nocturnal wildlife filling his ears.

He frowned and strained his hearing further. That didn't matter. He needed to find his neighbor before the blonde got into deeper trouble. Focusing all of his concentration, he listened, trying to pick up something from all the chirps, footsteps, pops—Pops?

Danny stopped, causing Iruka to halt and look at him. The raven-haired turned to his teacher.

"Iruka-sensei, I think I heard something! This way!" Danny took off, not waiting for his teacher's confirmation.

Soon, the two approached a clearing with a solitary shed occupying the far edge. In front of the storage shed lay a reclined, orange figure.

"Naruto!"

Naruto's head shot up at the voice, and he saw his friend and sensei run up to him. Danny was looking at him in relief, while Iruka had a slightly crazed, menacing look.

The Chuunin crouched down, laughing slightly crazily. "It's all over," he said.

To the others' surprise, Naruto rubbed his head in embarrassment, not at all acting like he just got caught committing a near-felony. The two stared at him in confusion.

"Oh man, I got caught. You're quick, Sensei, I only learned one technique," Naruto sheepishly admitted. The two only got more confused.

Iruka looked at his orange student, now noticing the various scratches and grime covering the boy's figure. _'He practiced here…until he was all worn-out?'_

_'So that was what those pops were,'_ Danny thought, but it still didn't make sense. "You…were training all this time?"

Naruto jumped to his neighbor with a bright grin. "You better believe it!" Turning to his teacher, he said, "Listen, Iruka-sensei! I'm going to show you a great technique, and you'll let me graduate if I can do it! That's how it works, right? If I show you a technique from this scroll, I can graduate?"

The two stared at Naruto, completely baffled. "Who said that?"

"Mizuki-sensei! He told me about this place…and this scroll…" Naruto's voice faltered as he saw the looks of utmost alarm on the other two's faces.

Iruka didn't move, feeling all of his blood run cold. _'Mizuki…?'_ Hearing something whistle behind him, the Chuunin shoved his two students out of the way. "LOOK OUT!"

The two preteens landed hard on the grass and subsequently heard the sounds of metal hitting wood and…flesh. Looking up, the two saw their teacher pinned to the shed wall, several kunai impaled in his figure. Naruto stared in horror, not knowing what was going on, while Danny began rushing towards their teacher.

"No!" Iruka yelled, halting the boy. "Stay with Naruto! Don't worry about me!"

A cold laugh rang from the trees. "I'm surprised you found out about this place."

Iruka turned and glared up at his silver-haired colleague, who was perched high up on a tree branch. "I see, so that's how it is."

Ignoring him, Mizuki turned to the orange student. "Naruto, hand over the scroll."

Naruto didn't move, completely frozen by fear and shock. "What…what's going on here?" He didn't understand why their sensei was suddenly attacking them.

Danny withdrew a kunai and stepped in front of his neighbor, glaring at the evil teacher. "Mizuki tricked you."

The blonde looked at him, completely thrown. "Wha…?"

Panting painfully, Iruka pulled out the kunai that pierced his leg. "Naruto, don't let him get the scroll no matter what. That's a dangerous scroll that has forbidden techniques. Mizuki used you so that he could get a hold of it!"

Naruto turned to Mizuki with wide eyes, before his features filled with rage and betrayal. The orange ninja stood up in a defensive position, giving the traitor a growl.

The silver-haired Chuunin merely leered, knowing how to manipulate the blonde. "Naruto, Iruka is merely afraid of you possessing that. He doesn't want you to have the scroll."

That did the trick. The blonde came to a standstill, then turned to his other teacher with a skeptical look. He knew Mizuki was sinister, but he couldn't shake the doubts that told him that what the traitor said was true. "What…?"

Danny immediately noticed the shift in his neighbor's judgment. "Don't listen to him! He's lying!"

Mizuki gave a cold laugh, taking advantage of the blonde's doubt. "Hehe, am I really? I'll tell you the truth, and then you'll decide who's really lying."

Iruka's eyes expanded and his face grew pale. "Don't!" he yelled.

At their teacher's panic-stricken reaction, the two younger ninjas looked at him with perplexed expressions. Both then looked up at Mizuki with bewildered eyes, each one wondering what the silver-haired traitor was talking about. Iruka, seeing this, only grew more frantic.

Mizuki smiled maliciously, continuing, "They've been lying to you your whole life. A rule was created after the incident that occurred 12 years ago."

The two looked more confused. "A…rule?" the blonde repeated slowly.

"It's a rule that only you, Naruto, cannot find out about," Mizuki continued with the same cold expression. "Iruka is trying to hide it from you even now."

Both Danny and Naruto's eyes widened, each one burning to know what the ninja was talking about. The orange boy spoke first, "What is this rule? Why does everybody else know about it?"

Iruka was hysterical as he desperately tried to free himself. "Stop! It's forbidden!" he screamed.

Mizuki smiled cruelly. "The rule is that no one can tell that the Nine-Tailed Fox is inside of you."

Both preteens froze. Naruto's blood ran cold. Danny completely dropped his defensive position in shock. Their minds went blank, unable to process what the silver-haired Chuunin had just said, but both boys had the horrible feeling that what the traitor said wasn't a lie.

All the color had drained from Naruto's face. "…What…?"

Mizuki continued, face sadistic. "In other words, you are the nine-tailed demon fox who killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village!"

"STOP IT!" screamed Iruka, desperation in his voice. He couldn't let Mizuki manipulate them like this. Iruka stepped forward but pain seared up his legs; Mizuki had made sure to render him incapable of moving.

"You've been deceived by the village people all this time. Didn't you think it was weird for everyone to hate you so much?"

Naruto didn't move. He forgot about Mizuki, he forgot about Iruka and Danny…he forgot he was in the forest. He only saw their stares…_cold_…

_"Dammit!"_

Naruto threw out his arms, baring his teeth making his mouth feel numb, corners of his eyes pooling with tears. He tried fighting them—the stares. But they only grew bigger, colder. "_DAMMIT!"_ he screamed as lines of chakra blew out around him.

Iruka looked at Naruto, completely wretched at watching his student suffer.

"Naruto!" Danny yelled, abandoning his position and running over to Naruto to grasp the blonde's shoulders, trying to calm him to no success.

Mizuki only continued his relentless torture. "No one in this village is ever going to accept you! Even Iruka hates you!"

The Chuunin saw red and tried to lunge at Mizuki, but once again he fell down in pain. His head was ringing, and in the back of his mind the Hokage's previous words rang in his ears.

_'It may not show, but he's always thinking about the family he doesn't have. He's hurting inside.'_

Iruka grit his teeth.

From behind him, Danny heard a whirring sound and turned to see Mizuki spinning one of his massive shuriken.

"Die, Naruto!" Mizuki yelled and threw his arm forward.

Danny's heart stopped as he saw the shuriken fly towards them with blinding speeds. No, this couldn't be happening…

The hybrid flew forward and tackled Naruto to the ground, shielding him with his back. Danny shut his eyes, too panicked to think about turning intangible, and braced himself for the impact before hearing a piercing scream.

"GET DOWN!"

A sickening squelch was heard, freezing the two younger ninja. Danny slowly turned his head, dreading what he will see.

Iruka was on top of them, having raced over from his position to shield them. The shuriken was standing erect, impaled deep in his back. The brunette coughed, and Danny felt drops speckle his face. Mizuki clenched his jaw as he stared at the scene in disbelief.

Naruto, paralyzed, gazed at the two people on top of him. "W-Why…?" he whispered.

"Because you're the same as me," Iruka confessed through grit teeth. "After my parents died, no one seemed to care, they just forgot I was there. I screwed up a lot during class because I wanted to get everyone's attention. I just wanted them to see me…" The brunette coughed harshly. "So I acted like an idiot and did crazy things. It was tough…" Tears fell, and the Chuunin looked at the blonde, completely shattered. "Right, Naruto? You were lonely, right? It was so hard…" Iruka swallowed painfully.

"Danny was there for you, when it should have been me. I should have been more aware. I'm so sorry, Naruto."

The two looked at their sensei, completely lost for words. Danny swallowed, faintly feeling a familiar burning sensation on his skin. A cruel laugh rang out, snapping the three's attention back to their adversary.

Mizuki smiled crazily. "Don't make me laugh! Iruka has hated you since you killed his parents! He'd say anything to get the scroll back! And that outsider only befriended you because you were so desperate!"

Danny, infuriated, turned to the traitor. "Why you…" He stopped as he felt frantic kicks and a weight disappear from under him, making him fall to the ground. The hybrid looked to see Naruto running frantically into the forest.

"NARUTO!"

Iruka tried to follow, but in his horrible state he fell down with Danny catching him. The Chuunin turned to the hybrid in desperation. "Quick, go!"

Danny looked at him like he was crazy. "N-no! You can't—"

"Don't worry about me! I'm higher in rank, I can take care of myself! Naruto needs you now!" Iruka ordered, waving him off urgently. He heard his student swear before leaving with a pained expression, racing into the forest. Iruka watched him go when he heard a laugh again.

Mizuki jumped down, landing behind the Chuunin with a soft thud. "Naruto isn't the type who will change his mind. He's going to take revenge on the village with that scroll." He straightened, eyeing Iruka. "You saw his eyes, didn't you? Those are the eyes of a beast."

"No…" Iruka staggered up and whipped the shuriken out of his back, launching it at Mizuki. "Naruto won't do that!" he yelled.

Mizuki easily sidestepped, avoiding the attack. "Hmph, you're a joke. As long as I kill those two and get that scroll, I'll take care of you later." The silver-haired ran off, leaping through the trees with professional speed.

Iruka watched him go, realizing that Mizuki will quickly catch up to his two students. He wasn't sure if Danny had reached Naruto by now, or if the two were really a match for Mizuki.

With clenched teeth, Iruka lifted himself with his arm. Either way, he wasn't about to let Mizuki hurt them. In a flash, the Chuunin sprang up and sped into the forest.

* * *

In his study, Hiruzen was watching the whole scene through his orb. His hands shook slightly; it took all his years of being a shinobi to remain calm in this kind of situation, although he was silently cursing at what the silver-haired traitor had caused. _'This isn't good…Mizuki told him the secret! Naruto is more unstable than ever. He also has the Scroll of Sealing…the possibility that he will unseal himself and turn into a nine-tailed fox is possible.'_

Continuing to watch, he only hoped that one of the two loyal shinobi would be quick enough to catch up to the troubled boy.

* * *

Danny flew—not leapt—through the trees intangibly, allowing him to search faster. His jaw was beginning to twitch from the amount of force he was gritting his teeth. _'Damn it, I shouldn't have left Iruka-sensei! But Mizuki is probably catching up to Naruto! If I don't hurry, he's going to kill him! Damn it, gotta stay calm, this is no time to freak out…'_

The raven-haired flew through the trees, focusing all of his hearing to see if he can pick up any human-like noises. It was difficult; despite the graveness of the situation, the nocturnal life in the forest continued to chitter away for all the cares in the world. This wasn't working, maybe he'd have better luck if he tried an aerial search—

_"Blind…"_

Danny stopped. He scanned his surroundings sharply, trying to discern where he heard the voice. He was completely baffled. The voice didn't belong to Iruka, Naruto, or even Mizuki; in fact, it didn't sound either male or female. It came in soft whispers, as quiet as a gentle breeze. Danny continued to pore over the forest, looking at the foliage to see if something was hiding.

Deciding to risk it, he called out, "Who is there?"

There was no response, only more silence. Then:

_"…in deceit…" _

Danny tensed. He still couldn't pinpoint where the voice(s?) were coming from. "What? Where are you?"

The raven-haired continued to listen, but nothing more was heard. He growled, angry that he wasted precious time with something so pointless. He flew up, ready to take off again, when he heard a loud _clack!_ in the trees nearby. Looking at the source, he saw an orange blur speed by.

_'Naruto!'_ Lunging forward, Danny raced after his friend, relieved beyond belief. "Naruto, stop! Mizuki's coming after you!"

The blonde turned his head at his neighbor, and his eyes widened in worry and…fear? Danny heard another pair of clacks following them, and to his relief he saw that it was Iruka.

"Naruto!" their sensei yelled, "What Mizuki said back there was a lie! Hand over the scroll to me! Mizuki is after it!"

Danny frowned, for two reasons. He and Naruto knew that what Mizuki said was not a lie. This was true, judging by Iruka's earlier panic and the inexplicable behavior that the villagers displayed toward his neighbor. The other reason was that Iruka was moving through the trees swiftly—not the way a wounded person would be moving.

Before he could give it another thought, the hybrid saw an orange blur pass his side, zooming towards their teacher. Naruto threw his body at Iruka, sending the Chuunin crashing to the ground with a yell. Naruto and Danny landed in front of their teacher, the latter looking at the former with a shocked expression.

Iruka got up groaning painfully. "It can't be…How…did you know? How did you know…" a cloud of smoke burst around the Chuunin, leaving an angry Mizuki in his place, "…that I'm not Iruka?"

Naruto snickered with a victorious grin before smoke blew out, showing the injured Iruka. "Because I'm Iruka," he said smugly.

Danny snapped out of his stunned daze when he saw his teacher and rushed over. "Iruka-sensei!" The hybrid began to suppress some of the blood still coming from his teacher's wounds while Mizuki scowled at the two.

"What a bunch of fools. Why are you protecting a demon?"

The two glared hatefully at the traitor, Danny especially seeing red after that last statement. "I don't care what you say," Iruka stated, "I'm not going to let an idiot like you get that scroll."

Unbeknownst to the three, Naruto was nearby, concealing himself behind one of the thick trees. He clenched his hands around the scroll tighter as he listened to the exchange between the three shinobi.

Mizuki sneered, "You're the idiot. Don't you get it? Naruto is the same as me."

Danny gave an enraged growl and took out a kunai knife. He stood in front of his teacher to guard him. "What the hell do you know?" he yelled. "You don't know anything about Naruto, you deranged fruitloop!"

Mizuki scowled at him. "What an annoying brat. You're the one who's ignorant. Anything is possible with that scroll," he smirked, "There's no way that Naruto, the monster fox, won't use its powers. He'll pour all his rage into the scroll and destroy everything."

"…Yeah, you're right…"

Danny turned to Iruka in shock.

Naruto shuddered and grew cold at the words that left his sensei's lips. He buried his face into the scroll, trying to calm his trembling jaw. _'I knew it, Iruka-sensei never believed in me. He thinks I'm some kind of beast, a freak—'_

"If he was a monster fox." Naruto's eyes widened.

Reclining against the cool bark, Iruka smiled in fondness. "But that's not who Naruto is.

"Naruto is one of a kind. He's hardworking, earnest, clumsy, and no one recognizes him—well, almost no one." At this Iruka gave Danny warm smile, which the raven-haired returned. "He knows the pain of others. That's what separates him from being a beast. So you're wrong, he's not a monster fox. He's Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha!" he finished adamantly.

Droplets flecked the yellow paper of the scroll. Streams of tears flowed out of Naruto's eyes as he tried to contain his snivels. He perked up as another voice followed.

"He's not a demon." Danny turned to Mizuki with a confident smirk. "I've lived and trained with Naruto for a year now, and you know what I learned in just a year? Naruto Uzumaki is the best prankster in the whole village who can eat a ton of ramen and more in a day. He's loud, in-your-face, stubborn, and won't take no for an answer." Danny smiled, "And one day, he'll become a great ninja and earn the title of Hokage." He finished with a glare. "I'll always have my friend's back."

Naruto was trembling, a warm, bursting sensation expanding in his chest. He paused as a cold voice snapped him to attention.

"What idiots. I said I would kill you later, but I take that back."

The blonde bared his teeth, rage filling his entire body as he shot up.

Danny's eyes glowed green. He readied himself as the traitor began readying another shuriken. "Just try," he growled. He braced himself when suddenly, an orange blur dashed out from the trees and attacked Mizuki straight-on; the silver-haired's shuiken flew out of his hand, spinning widely out of the clearing.

Danny and Iruka's eyes widened. _'Naruto!' _

Naruto straightened, watching Mizuki get up from having skidded a few feet on the rough ground. He growled, eyes full of protectiveness. "If you ever lay a hand on my sensei or friend…I'll kill you!"

Mizuki's lips curled in a sneer, not intimidated in the least. "Talk while you can. I'll finish a kid like you in a flash."

Danny was about to step forward to join his neighbor when the blonde got into a defensive stance, hands forming a sign. The hybrid stopped, wondering what his friend would do.

Naruto gave a menacing glare. "Try, jerk. I'll do a thousand times more damage back to you."

"Why don't you try it if you can, you monster fox!" Mizuki yelled in rage.

"_Shadow Clone Justsu!_"

In the blink of an eye, the clearing filled with smoke. When it dissipated, Danny and Iruka shared similar looks of shock, with their mouths open. A hundred Narutos filled the entire space, all primed and itching to do some damage to the silver-haired traitor.

Iruka couldn't believe what he was seeing. _'Naruto…Those aren't just illusions, they're real bodies! He's mastered a high-class technique!'_

_'He managed to master this kind of jutsu in just a few hours?!' _Danny was completely bowled over by the awesome feat.

"W-What?" Mizuki stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, completely thrown off-guard by the blonde's new trick. The Narutos all snickered, a few egging the silver-haired on.

"What's the matter?"

"Come and get me!"

"Come on!"

When the Chuunin didn't do anything, they all grinned. "If you're not coming, then we're coming!"

The orange army lunged at the traitor, and soon the air was filled with Mizuki's screams they proceeded to beat the living daylights out of the former teacher.

* * *

Danny looked at the twitching mess that was their former sensei, who was completely covered in bruises and swellings and muttering incoherent noises. The raven-haired turned to his neighbor. "I think you overdid it."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "Hehe, yeah, you're probably right." His face grew concerned. "Are you guys okay?"

Iruka gave a grunt from his spot near the tree. "Okay" wasn't the best word to describe his current condition, but he'll be much better once he gets medical attention. Besides that, he was glowing with pride. _'What a guy…He really might surpass all the previous Hokages…'_

Danny gave an amused huff. "I would've been better if you had let me throw in a few punches, too."

The blonde sniggered, before his teacher's voice caught his attention.

"Naruto, come here for a second. I want to give you something." The Chuunin was smiling, eager to share what he had. With a curious look, the blonde did as he was told, while Danny watched with a content smile.

* * *

Near the Hokage's residence, there was still much unrest.

"You're telling me no one can find Naruto?!"

"This is bad…"

Hiruzen stepped forward, a smile gracing his entire features. He withdrew the warm pipe from his mouth. "There is no need to worry."

Every shinobi turned to the leader with a surprised expression. "Lord Hokage?"

The elder continued to smile assuredly. "The scroll is safe. Naruto will be back soon." _'And feel much better.'_

* * *

The blonde was fidgeting as he waited impatiently for his sensei to finish. Iruka had told him to close his eyes or else he wouldn't get to see what the surprise was. He felt a soft fabric wrap around his head, with Iruka patiently fiddling with the back, trying to tighten it around his forehead.

Naruto whined. "Sensei, are you done yet?" He felt the hands leave his head.

"All right, open your eyes."

Naruto did as he was told, although it took some time for his eyes to readjust themselves. The first few rays of the morning had broken through the thick foliage, shining on Iruka's grinning face. To the blonde's surprise, he noticed that his teacher's forehead protector was gone. With a hesitant hand, Naruto reached towards his forehead, and his fingers met cool metal.

The Chuunin was absolutely glowing. "Congratulations, you graduate," he commended.

Danny, who had watched the whole scene, was beaming at this point. He walked up to his neighbor and gave him a congratulatory pat. "Nice, now we get to train together. Good job," he finished with a proud smile.

Naruto was completely speechless, not being able to process what was happening. The warm feeling from before returned to his chest, spreading throughout his entire body and making him feel like he was floating. He continued to gaze at the two.

The Chuunin gave a satisfied smile. "All right, let's celebrate! I'll treat you to ramen! You too, Danny!" Unexpectedly, he was met with silence. Iruka saw that the blonde had his eyes and mouth tightly shut and his face lowered, confusing the older ninja. He was wondering what was wrong when the orange boy suddenly lunged at him, tackling him in an embrace.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto cried out joyfully.

The Chuunin laughed, although a little painfully as he landed on his back; Naruto apparently forgot about all the injuries he sustained. Upon seeing the raven-haired, however, Iruka stopped laughing. Anxiety began to show on his face, and the blonde responded to his teacher's seriousness with a curious look.

Iruka got up as the blonde got off of him and made his way to Danny.

"Danny," he began, "You—Both of you—weren't supposed to hear what Mizuki revealed. But it's too late now." The teacher frowned gravely at both of them. "You cannot tell anyone what you learned today. Breaking the decree is punishable by death."

Danny frowned, understanding but not the least bit pleased. "Regardless whether it was a law or not, you shouldn't have kept it from Naruto. He of all people has a right to know why the villagers treat him like they do."

"Danny…" came a quiet voice.

The raven-haired turned to his neighbor, whose hair was covering his eyes. Like before, his mouth was tightly shut, but this time his lip was quivering.

The blonde continued to look down, fear filling his heart. "Y-You—I…" Naruto hesitated. "Y-You're not going to leave…are you?" At the taller boy's surprised look, the blonde continued. "N-now that you know that I have a…demon inside of me, you're not going to hate me too?"

Naruto shut his mouth, afraid to say more. He lowered his head until he couldn't see his neighbor anymore. Danny wouldn't reject him…His friend had accepted him when nobody else would. Still, that was before they found out that he was a vessel for one of the worst monsters in history. Wasn't that bound to change things?

The blonde felt a firm hand rest on his shoulder and he looked up to see his neighbor looking solidly at him with his crystalline eyes. Naruto stared in awe at the amount of sadness and trust they contained.

"No, I don't hate you. I never did. You're my friend, Naruto." The hybrid gave his neighbor a warm smile. "Besides, didn't I say that I'll always have your back?"

Danny felt trembling under his hand, but he didn't have time to react as Naruto lunged at him in a bone-crushing hug. The orange ninja, being much shorter, ended up hanging onto his neighbor like a ragdoll, making the raven-haired yell out at the uncomfortable weight swinging on his neck. Iruka laughed at the sight, warmed by the loyalty the two had towards each other, and stepped forward to save Danny.

"Alright! Let's go get some ramen!"

* * *

Read &amp; Review, and I'll see you guys in a while!


	8. Chapter 8: A New Team

I'm back everyone! It's been one hell of a busy year for me, but in the end I was able to scrap enough free time to write this chapter. I have a lot of priorities in my life right now—priorities that will take precedent over this story. In the end, I hope I can update more often. Thanks for waiting!

* * *

A New Team

The early morning sun shone brightly as Danny and Naruto made their way through the empty streets, enjoying the tranquility of the village before the other residents emerged from their homes. Both chatted amongst each other in anticipation of their briefing, with Naruto doing most of the chatting while Danny focused on getting out of his morning-daze. Suddenly, their conversation was cut short by a high-pitched yell in front of them.

"Fight me!" yelled a small boy jumping out of his (poorly) blended fence camouflage with a shuriken in his hand. However, the boy immediately tripped on his long scarf on the first step, face-planting to the ground. The two older boys looked at their "attacker" for a moment before Danny turned to his neighbor with a curious look.

"You know this guy?"

"Oh, right, you guys haven't met," Naruto said, "Danny, this is Konohamaru, the Old Hokage's grandson. Konohamaru, this is Danny, my neighbor and classmate."

"Hey!" the boy, Konohamaru, yelled as he picked himself up. "Two against one isn't fair!"

Danny, who had woken considerably thanks to the small boy's volume, smirked teasingly. "Neither is launching a surprise attack."

Before the small boy could retort, Naruto cut in. "Sorry Konohamaru, we can't stick around. We don't want to be late for our explanatory meeting."

Konohamaru's stance drooped. "Explanatory meeting?"

Naruto flashed a proud grin. "Yep! Starting today, we're both ninjas! And speaking of which…" He looked at the official Leaf headband hanging around his neighbor's neck. "Why aren't you wearing your headband on your forehead?"

"It isn't mandatory to wear your headband on your forehead," Danny said almost defensively, before turning away and muttering, "It makes my hair look stupid, anyway…" He almost cringed when he remembered the stupid outfit he wasted all of his garage-sale money on for Dash's party; in the end, it definitely wasn't worth the trouble that it caused.

The blonde smirked before addressing Konohamaru once more. "We should get going. See you later, Konohamaru!"

The younger boy gave a salute before running off. "Right, we'll fight later! See ya, Boss!"

Unable to contain himself, Danny snorted and turned to a mortified Naruto.

"What did he call you?"

"U-Uh, nothing. Let's go."

"Did he just call you 'Boss'?"

"Shut up!"

* * *

The entire classroom was bustling with all of the Academy's recent graduates as each student chattered to each other excitedly. Upon arriving, Naruto made a beeline for one of the front-row seats, hoping everyone will notice him being among their ranks and was barely containing his excitement. Danny, on the other hand, opted to sit at the less-crowded table behind him, preferring a little solitude before Iruka arrived.

As per Naruto's plan, Shikamaru strolled by the rows and stopped when he saw the blonde, his eyebrow raised in slight surprise. "Huh? Why are you here? Today's explanatory meeting is only for those who graduated."

Naruto scoffed and pointed to his shining headband. "Can't you see this forehead protector? Starting today, we're going to be training together!" He flashed a proud grin, "This looks really good on me, eh?"

"Tch, whatever," Shikamaru sighed and walked away, not noticing the blonde's ticked-off expression. The dull ninja made his way to the table where Danny sat patiently. "Hey Danny."

Danny, noticing who it was, gave a smirk. "I'm amazed that you actually woke up for this today…unless your mom made you get up."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "And I suppose that you're completely awake?" The two proceeded to chat a bit while they waited for the meeting to commence.

A nearby scuffle caught Danny's attention, and when he turned he saw Sakura rush down the rows towards his neighbor and barrel the blonde out of his seat.

"Oh, come on," Danny muttered and made his way to help the blonde up. He frowned at the pinkette. "Was that really necessary?"

Sakura ignored him, instead focusing on the quiet boy that had been sitting next to Naruto. "Good morning, Sasuke," she greeted cheerfully. When all she got was an uninterested glance, she tried again. "Can I sit next to you?"

At this point, Ino forced her way towards the pinkette, with several other female students gravitating towards the area due to the commotion.

"Back off, Miss Forehead! I'm going to sit next to him."

Sakura's hands curled, trying to swallow her ire. "First come first serve," she said.

"I came into the classroom before you!" Ino said, before a handful of other females joined in the argument as well.

"I was here before you two arrived!"

"If that's the case, I was here first."

"I was first! I'm going to sit next to Sasuke!"

From his position, the Uchiha looked at the commotion unfolding right in front of him. _'How annoying.'_

* * *

While the classroom was alive with activity, all was calm in the Hokage's office. The usually open space was crowded with several Jounin, with the Hokage being the only one sitting down. Everyone was paying rapt attention to the scene unfolding underneath the smooth surface of the elder's glass sphere.

"Is that him? This year's number one rookie, Uchiha Sasuke."

The elder nodded wearily. "That's right."

"He's a survivor of the Uchiha clan," the only female Jounin said.

One of the Jounin shifted their attention to the antics of the whiskered blonde. "Uzumaki Naruto…" Kakashi ruminated, then turned his gaze to the raven-haired kid that was helping the blonde up. "And that foreign kid, right?"

"His name is Daniel Fenton. In the past year he proved himself to have the best taijutsu skills in all of his class."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw Gai fidget next to him, and he turned to see his comrade's eyes sparkling with excitement. The masked Jounin internally groaned; looks like Gai found another student he wanted to adopt. A new noise coming from the sphere brought everyone's attention back to the classroom scene.

* * *

The Uchiha continued to remain indifferent to the surrounding commotion until he felt a burning gaze searing into him.

"Hm?" Sasuke opened his eyes, only to find a pair of angry sky-blue eyes staring back at him.

Danny gained a stupefied look at his neighbor's antics. _'Give me a break.' _

Naruto, extremely irate, had leapt onto the desk to glare at his rival, hoping to intimidate him in a stare-off. Not to be deterred, Sasuke returned his scowl with equal fervor.

Sakura withdrew her attention from arguing with the rest of her female classmates to hiss at the blonde. "Naruto! Stop staring at Sasuke!" she yelled.

Naruto looked at his crush with a hurt look, before reverting his scowl at his rival with renewed anger. _Everyone is so obsessed with Sasuke…What's so great about him anyway?' _

The rest of the female group became restless as they too became overtaken with anger and annoyance.

"Sasuke, just beat him up!" Ino said, her fist clenched in front of her threateningly.

Shikamaru edged around the tense scene and over to Danny, who opted to sit down and watch the exchange impassively. "Aren't you going to do something? I'm pretty sure that idiot is going to get himself killed before Iruka gets here."

Danny shrugged. "There are some things in life that you need to learn the hard way. Besides, there is no way in hell I'm getting involved in _that_."

Shikamaru hummed and turned back to the scenario. Right now, the tension between Naruto and Sasuke had gotten so thick that sparks can be seen flying between their gazes. The two rivals were so completely engrossed in intimidating each other that they were blind to everything happening around them…including the student that accidentally bumped Naruto in the back.

The room went completely silent as everyone tried to process what just happened.

"…What?" Sakura uttered before collapsing in horror.

Naruto and Sasuke had looks of horror and repulsion written across their faces as their lips continued to press against each other. After a minute of disgusted paralysis, both boys jumped back, each one clutching their throats and gagging as if they were about to vomit.

Shikamaru was thoroughly disturbed. The dull shinobi glanced over at Danny, only to find the chair empty. Roars of laughter rang from the room next door.

"My mouth's going to rot!" Naruto gagged, then froze when he felt a cold chill running down his spine. Turning, the blonde shinobi met the dozen or so murderous looks coming from each of his female classmates—Sakura especially.

"You are so annoying…" the pinkette growled, cracking her knuckles.

Naruto brought his hands up, his voice ridden with terror. "It was an accident, I swear!" His cries fell on deaf ears, however, as a barrage of fists rained down on him.

* * *

"Starting today, you are all official ninjas," Iruka gazed proudly at the students he guided throughout the years while at the same time ignoring the pummeled mess that was his orange student. "But…you are still new Genin. It's going to get harder from here on out. You will all be assigned to a group of three, where you will accomplish missions under a Jounin teacher."

This immediately caught the attention of Sakura, Naruto, and Ino.

Ino smirked at the pinkette in front of her. "I wonder who's going to be in Sasuke's team."

"I don't know," Sakura replied with a frown as she contained her temper. _'Damn it, I'm the one who's going to team up with him, of course!' _

Sasuke clicked his tongue distastefully. _'A group of three? That's only going to burden me.' _

_'I can live with anyone as long as it's not Sasuke,' _Naruto thought casually. There was no way that he was going to put up with raging fan girls everyday if he got grouped with that jerk.

"We've arranged the groups such that overall abilities are equivalent," Iruka continued, "I will now announce them."

"Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto…Haruno, Sakura…"

"Yeah!" the orange ninja jumped from his seat with his fists pumped victoriously while Sakura groaned miserably.

"…and Uchiha Sasuke."

Both Naruto and Sakura turned a one-eighty as now Sakura stood cheering while Naruto cursed the gods.

Danny snorted from his seat, laughing at how karma unfolded itself. _'Those three are going to kill each other.' _

As Iruka continued announcing the teams, Sakura took the opportunity to turn around and gloat at Ino, smirking victoriously as she saw a vein throb dangerously in her rival's forehead. _'Alright! Love prevails!' _

Ino grit her teeth dangerously. "Why do you get to be with him?!" she hissed, attracting the attention of Shikamaru sitting next to her.

"Why do girls like such a guy anyway?" the dull shinobi asked as he grew annoyed with the ridiculous rivalry between the two females.

The blonde kunoichi looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Don't you even know that, Shikamaru?"

"No, because I'm not a girl."

Ino stared at Shikamaru for another minute before sighing wearily. "That's why you're not popular. I wouldn't want to team up with a guy like you," she finished with a smile.

"Team 10: Yamanaka Ino…Nara Shikamaru…"

Ino's eyes popped open as her new teammate smiled smugly at her. "Looks like you have to team up with me," he said as Ino scowled at him.

"…and Akimichi Choji."

_'And a fatty?' _Ino thought in despair as she covered her face in her hands. From his seat, Choji paused in his eating as he sensed someone insult him.

"That's it for the groups," Iruka finished.

Danny and Naruto both gained confused looks as they both noticed an inconsistency. Naruto took it upon himself to voice the question on their minds.

"Iruka-sensei, what about Danny? You didn't assign him to a group."

"Since Danny joined the Academy late, he is an extra that totals the class to a non-multiple of three," the teacher said. "It is unfair to assign four people to any one group, so he will be rotating teams to spread the advantage."

"Ehhh?! Why does he have to do that?! Give him Sasuke's spot! Why is a top student like me in a group with this guy anyway—Ow!" Sakura hit her teammate on the head, effectively silencing the blonde, while Danny gave his neighbor a look of disbelief at the phrase "top student".

Iruka waited patiently for the orange Genin to quiet down. "That's the way it works, Naruto. Danny will still be a part of your team, just not on a continuous basis. As for your last question, Sasuke graduated with the highest scores while you, Naruto, had the worst scores." At this the entire classroom erupted into laughs. "This happens because we want to evenly divide abilities between groups."

Sasuke, fed up with the orange ninja, clicked his tongue. "Don't pull my leg, blockhead."

"What'd you say?!"

"Enough!" Iruka shouted, tired of their interruptions. "I'm going to introduce the Jounin teachers in the afternoon. Danny, your first team will be Team 7, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke's team. Meeting adjourned!"

* * *

"I'm sorry you didn't get put into a team."

Danny shrugged, not perturbed in the least. While it was true he was annoyed with the whole setup of having to rotate teams, he figured this would prevent him from partaking in any actually serious missions. "Don't worry about it."

Naruto stared at his neighbor briefly before the sight of someone else caught his attention. "Sakura!" he yelled, waving vigorously to his new teammate. "Let's all eat together since we're in the same group now."

The pinkette, noticing their arrival, frowned in distaste as she regarded the blonde, and remarked snidely, "Why do I have to eat with you?"

Danny scowled at the attitude. "Sorry, we didn't know you were planning to eat with your 'imaginary' friends," he said, indicating the empty space around the kunoichi.

Sakura grit her teeth at the taller boy, who remained unfazed. "What did you say?"

Naruto jumped in to try to alleviate the tension. "I-I was just wondering…since, we're in the same group, so…"

"You're annoying," Sakura cut him off, before turning around swiftly and calling for her crush.

Naruto stared after his crush in dejection, the words having long died in his throat. He knew that Sakura did not have the best impression of him—especially after the scene he caused in the classroom earlier, but actually hearing her voice her opinions so bluntly without any hesitation still stung deeply.

"Don't listen to her." Naruto turned to look at his neighbor, who was wearing a frown. "The three of you will get to know each other better as you learn to work as a team."

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto said. "Didn't you just hear what she just said? She hates me!"

"She just doesn't know you, yet." Danny put a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Sakura probably grew up believing the same things that the other villagers view you as. Still, she should know better than to treat someone that way. Especially someone she knows nothing about."

Seeing that the crestfallen look remained on his neighbor's face, Danny gave him a small smile and pat on the back. "How about I get you some ramen? My treat."

"Yeah, that sounds good…" Naruto said. As his friend leapt away to get their lunch, Naruto remained in his position, mulling over Danny's words. After a moment, his eyes widened as an idea came to mind. The orange ninja raced off in pursuit of his target.

* * *

The hybrid rested his elbows on the clean countertop as he waited for his and Naruto's lunch. A smile graced his lips; he could see why his neighbor enjoyed this place so much (beyond his ramen addiction). Along with the mix of flavors that wafted through the air as the cooks worked, the restaurant itself emitted an atmosphere of hospitality that made anyone feel welcome. Eating at Ichiraku's almost made you feel like you were eating with family.

"Here you go!" Teuchi's voice rang out, snapping Danny out of his thoughts, "One extra-large bowl of miso ramen! Anything else?"

Danny gave the owner a smile as he handed the bills. "No, this will be enough, thanks."

The chef grinned and bid him goodbye as he went to attend to the next customer. Just as Danny turned around, he saw a figure land in front of him out of the corner of his eye; turning around fully, Danny saw the usual slumped figure of Shikamaru.

"Hey Danny," the dull shinobi greeted.

Danny raised an eyebrow as Shikamaru walked towards him. "Hi, Shikamaru. What's going on?" In the back of his mind, the hybrid felt a sense of foreboding.

"Ino, Choji, and I just saw Naruto sneaking around the Academy building and try to ambush Sasuke," Shikamaru began, "I just thought I'd let you know that your idiot of a neighbor got his ass kicked, and that he's tied up in a storage room on the third floor. The one with the boarded window."

The raven-haired boy grew irritated. "And you couldn't have helped him yourself?"

The lethargic Genin sighed and began to walk away. "Too troublesome…"

Danny sighed wearily. With the way that Sakura left Naruto, he should have known that his friend would try to do something to the Uchiha.

Making sure that no one was watching him, the hybrid went into a hidden corner, turned invisible, and leapt into the air on his way to the Academy. He momentarily enjoyed the feeling of the wind whistling past his face and the liberating feeling of gravity having zero-effect on his body; it's been a while since he took to the skies.

Reaching the Academy in two minutes, Danny circled the third floor until he found the boarded window, just as Shikamaru said. Making sure no one was looking, Danny turned visible and lifted the shutter, stepping inside while beginning to reprimand his friend.

"And what have we learned today?" Danny began, before freezing at the sight before him.

To his complete surprise, he found not Naruto, but Sasuke, stretched out on the wooden floor with his hands tied behind his back, gazing at the hybrid with a startled look. His mouth was taped shut with tape, and his legs were tightly wound in rope, preventing him from getting up.

Danny blinked. Then he had to fight down a snort that was threatening to escape. "Wow, he ended up kicking _your_ ass?" he asked with barely contained laughter.

The Uchiha gave an angry growl as he began to fidget incessantly on the floor, his efforts to break out of the ropes having doubled. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Alright, take it easy," he said before giving a sigh, "Man, I am _not_ going to hear the end of this…" Taking out a kunai, Danny knelt down and began cutting the Uchiha's binds, running through a few thoughts while doing so.

"So, if you're here, and Shikamaru said you ended up beating Naruto…then where…?" Danny paused cutting the ropes around Sasuke's hands, having realized what the blonde did. He groaned loudly, "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

Sasuke, untangling his hands from the ropes, ripped the pieces of tape off his mouth. Without another word, he leapt out the window in pursuit of the orange shinobi, leaving being an irate Danny.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Wait! Ugh, little punk…" He jumped up and began to follow the Uchiha, completely forgetting the ramen container.

* * *

Sakura sat glumly on a street bench as she ate her lunch with little gusto. In the end, she was unsuccessful in finding her crush, leaving her to eat lunch by herself; she was hoping she could make some progress in getting the impassive boy to finally notice her. _'There's no need to sweat it. I'm going to be in the same group as Sasuke for quite a while,'_ she thought, before letting her head rest into her hands. _'But…even if I wanted to seduce him, my figures are below average. Only the width of my forehead is above average.' _

Sighing despondently, Sakura remained still for a few minutes before she began considering cleaning up and heading back to the Academy. However, as she lifted her head, an unlikely sight caught her eye.

_'Eh?'_ Sakura was dumbfounded. Right across from her position was the Uchiha himself, leaning casually against a tree with his arms crossed in front of his chest. A playful smirk was on his face as his gaze was focused solely on the pinkette.

_'What? For real?!'_ Sakura felt heat rise to her cheeks as her face split into a grin. _'Sasuke is looking at me, and with such intensity!'_ Noticing that the boy wasn't leaving his gaze, the kunoichi turn her head shyly as a number of fantasies flashed through her mind, all of them ending with Sasuke giving her a kiss.

'Yeah right,' Sakura chided herself. 'Get real. Who am I, a kid who still believes in fairy tales?' Having forgotten the boy in front of her, Sakura retreated into herself as her mind came back to Earth. She failed to notice the onyx-haired shinobi walking towards her.

"You have a charming, wide forehead." Sakura's eyes shot wide open. "It makes me want to kiss it," Sasuke finished.

Sakura openly stared at the Uchiha, although she couldn't care less as, right now, her mind was on cloud nine. _'Alright! It's a fairy tale situation!' _she thought gleefully.

"…Not."

Sakura's felt a thousand boulders fall on her, her mood extinguishing like a flame being put out.

"Only Naruto would say something like that," Sasuke finished with a smirk before he turned serious. "I wanted to ask you something."

Sakura immediately straightened. "Yes?"

Sasuke paused as he seated himself next to the pinkette. "What do you think of Naruto?"

Sakura just stared at the Uchiha, wondering where in the world that question came from. Deciding not to irritate him by lingering, she scoffed as her face grew annoyed. "He's become accustomed to interfering with my love," she began, "He's having fun looking at me having trouble. Naruto knows nothing about me. He's annoying."

Sasuke remained silent for a while, before inquiring in quiet tone, "Do you know that for sure?"

"Huh?"

Sasuke's eyes were unusually hard. "I mean, have you actually tried talking to him? Or…just to get to know him?"

Sakura blinked owlishly at him. "Why would I do that?"

Backtracking a bit, Sasuke tried to find the right words. "Don't you find it…unfair, that you could be so certain about your impressions of a person when you don't know them?"

Sakura panicked on the inside. She didn't want Sasuke to think she was selfish! But at the same time, she couldn't figure out why this was such an important topic for him. "W-well, it's not just me," Sakura began weakly, "Everyone thinks the same things about Naruto. Even my parents."

"Yeah, but do you actually know if those things are true?"

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but her words failed her as she fully considered the Uchiha's words. Throughout her years at the Academy, her parents strongly discouraged her from going near or interacting with Naruto in any way. When she asked why, they merely said that he was a bad influence. At the time, she accepted their answer because she knew her parents knew what was best for her.

Sakura shifted her gaze at her lap. Naruto did a lot of things that would mark him as a bad influence, but it was obvious to everyone that he was only doing them to get attention. Which, considering how everyone else regarded the boy, wasn't surprising. She never understood why people treated Naruto the way they did, but Sasuke was right: it didn't change the fact that she had only been blindly agreeing to what everyone else believed in.

"I…suppose you're right," she said, immediately grabbing Sasuke's attention. "I've only been doing what my parents told me, but…I don't actually know Naruto." She turned to him with a curious look. "What about you? What do you think of him?"

Sasuke looked thrown off by the question, and to her confusion, he began fumbling to find the right words, before immediately throwing his arms around his stomach as an expression of pain appeared on his face.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked.

"Y-yeah," Sasuke said, still clutching his stomach, "I just have to—I have to go." And with that, Sasuke hurried away, leaving behind a very bewildered kunoichi.

* * *

Sasuke flew across the village, his usually expressionless face taken a shade of annoyance as he tried to find the orange brat. He was mad, but more so at the fact that he was outsmarted at the likes of Naruto rather than why the blonde did what he did. He was also annoyed that he needed the foreigner's help to get out of his binds; he could have gotten out of them himself, it just would have taken longer. In the end, it was still Naruto's fault that this all happened.

Seeing a dot of pink nearby the Academy park, Sasuke saw that it was his other teammate, Sakura, and immediately landed a few feet away from where the kunoichi was sitting. He began walking towards her with his eyes narrowed; she would have a better idea of where Naruto was than he did.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Sakura raised her eyes and smiled. "Sasuke, you're back!"

"Where's Naruto?" the boy asked, getting straight to the point.

The girl grew confused again and raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure he's around, why do you ask?"

Before Sasuke could reply, an irate voice rang out towards the two.

"Hey!" Danny shouted as he landed next to the two. He looked towards Sasuke with an annoyed scowl. "You couldn't have waited?" Sasuke "tch'ed", causing Danny to roll his eyes aggravated before turning to Sakura. "Hey, have you seen Naruto?"

Sakura, slightly annoyed with the taller boy's intrusion, said, "No, I haven't seen him. Shouldn't you of all people know? He was hanging around with you."

Danny threw his hands up in the air. "It's not like I keep him on a leash!"

Ignoring the raven-haired boy, Sakura turned to the Uchiha. "Listen, Sasuke, I've been thinking about what you said…and you're right." Misinterpreting the Uchiha's confused look, she said, "I mean—we're all going to be on the same team anyway, so we should get to know each other better, right?"

She was met with no response as Danny and Sasuke stared at her with awkward, blank looks. The two boys shared a side-glance before the Uchiha spoke up.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know—about Naruto," Sakura clarified. "I mean, it'll probably take me a while, but you're right. I shouldn't make premature judgments about someone I don't know. We're going to be working together now, so this a chance for us to learn more about each other." At this, Sakura smiled dreamily at the onyx-haired boy. "Like today, I learned that you're not only really cool, Sasuke, but that you're really kind as well. You really are amazing!"

Sasuke looked taken aback and uncomfortable, while Danny looked between the two, completely at a loss at how to respond.

"W-wait, that wasn't—"

"Anyway, we should be heading back to the classroom soon, so I'll meet you guys there. Don't be late!" And with that, Sakura turned and made her way back to the Academy, completely oblivious to the bafflement of the other two shinobi.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, staring after the pinkette, with Sasuke looking perplexed while Danny's openly stared with his mouth hanging slightly open. Eventually, the hybrid snapped out of his stupor and started walking down the opposite way of the street, catching Sasuke's attention.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I've got an orange idiot that I need to find," Danny said sternly and leapt off into the buildings in search of his friend. Hearing this, Sasuke's eyes widened briefly before they narrowed as he followed the taller boy.

* * *

Naruto dragged himself out of the bathroom, a hand still on his stomach. _'Ugh, it finally stopped. I can't believe my stomach would act up at a time like this.'_ The blonde took a deep breath through his nose and straightened up. "I wonder if Sakura is still waiting for me?"

"She already went back to the Academy."

Naruto screamed as he jumped into the air, having instantly recognized the voice. He fearfully watched as Danny landed in front of him with a look of great disapproval, and he immediately raised his hands in a feeble attempt to placate his friend.

"D-Danny, listen, I can explain."

"Okay," Danny said, "Then explain why you're running around transformed as Sasuke and fooling around with Sakura's feelings."

Naruto wilted under his neighbor's words. "I-I wasn't trying to fool around with her! It's just that…" he paused, trying to recompose his thoughts. "I was thinking about what you told me earlier. About how you said that Sakura only thinks that I'm annoying because she doesn't know me. Well, I thought that if I figured out what she thought of me first, I could begin proving to her that I wasn't as bad as she thought that I was." Naruto looked at his neighbor with a guilty expression.

"I only wanted to learn what she thought about me. I didn't mean to take it too far," Naruto bit his lip, "I-I told her that it was kind of unfair that she was judging me when she didn't even know me. I told her that she shouldn't believe the things that everyone says about me without knowing if they were true."

Danny's expression softened as he looked at his neighbor in quiet surprise. Before he could respond, however, the arrival of another figure caught their attention. Seeing who it was, Naruto once again flew up into the air.

"Why are you here?!" the blonde screamed.

Sasuke gave him a smirk as he straightened himself. "The technique to untie ropes is a basic shinobi skill."

Hearing this, Danny rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Don't flatter yourself, I was the one who untied you."

The Uchiha immediately stiffened and shot Danny an annoyed look. He then returned his attention towards Naruto.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, more out of curiosity than anger. "What would you have gained from transforming into me?"

Naruto stiffened before scowling at his rival. "I wanted to prove that I'm just as great as you are! That I'm not just the untalented ninja that everyone thinks that I am!" he smirked, "I was able to defeat you, so I think I proved my point."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he took a step towards Naruto. "You only beat me because you took me by surprise."

Before Naruto could retort angrily, Danny grabbed him by the shoulder to silence him and looked sternly at the Uchiha. "Look, you already know why he did what he did. Just head back to the Academy, I'll take care of this."

Sasuke looked at the taller boy for a minute before scoffing and going to leave. Once he was out of sight, Naruto turned to Danny with a worried look.

"Does Sakura know…?"

"No," Danny said, "She doesn't know what you did. In fact, if anything, she's a lot more open to the idea of talking and working with you thanks to what you said."

Naruto smiled after hearing this. "See! In the end it all worked out! What's wrong with what I did?"

"You seriously don't know?" Danny said, his face falling into disapproval again. "You used Sakura's feelings towards Sasuke for your own benefit. You basically manipulated her."

Naruto flinched as if he had been struck. "I–I didn't mean to take it too far, I just wanted to know what she thought of me."

Danny sighed. "I get that, but what you did was still wrong. You can't force these kinds of things, Naruto, it takes time for people to open up to others." The hybrid paused as he watched his friend digest his words before crossing his arms. "In the end, it served Sasuke more than it served you."

"Huh?" Naruto's eyes shot up. "What do you mean?"

"Since you were transformed as Sasuke, she now thinks that Sasuke is not only 'really cool, but really kind, too'," he said. "I didn't think it was possible, but she's even crazier about him now."

The blonde groaned, not happy but understanding that in the end, he deserved it. He was about to suggest to Danny about going back to the Academy before a surge of pain seared through his stomach again. Naruto clutched at his stomach while his neighbor looked at him in concern.

"What's wrong?" Danny asked.

"J-just my stomach," Naruto said before waving a hand, "Don't worry about it, I'll meet you back at the Academy."

Danny looked at his neighbor with apprehension. "You seriously don't look good."

"I'll be—fine!" Naruto froze, then ran back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. Danny stood for a minute before sighing and making his way back, deciding to let his neighbor be.

* * *

The silver-haired Jonin assessed the messy apartment, which was mostly littered with dozens of empty ramen noodle containers and chopsticks. Turning back to the elder Hokage who was seated at the one-person table, he said, "So, this is Naruto's house."

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes. In addition to Naruto, Sasuke, the one from the Uchiha clan, is also going to be in your group. I wish you luck."

Kakashi hummed before his attention drifted over to the milk carton that was lying on the table. Picking it up, the Jonin looked at the date and shook the container. "This milk expired a while ago," he stated, "He's going to get a stomachache if he drinks this. Looks like something disastrous is going to happen."

* * *

Naruto emerged from the bathroom, praying that it would be the last time he would need to go. He made his way back to the classroom as he already wasted quite a bit of time thanks to his stomach. He walked along the same street where he talked to Sakura earlier – a memory that brought a pang of guilt to him – before a motion up ahead caught his attention.

Looking up, Naruto saw Sakura waving at him with a somewhat strained smile, apparently not having reached the classroom yet. On the inside, Naruto felt a feeling of joy soar through his chest as he saw Sakura trying to be nicer to him, before it immediately dropped when he remember the cause for his crush's change of mind. Naruto stared at his feet for a moment, a look of conflict on his face, and then his eyes somewhat hardened as he came to a decision.

As the blonde walked up to her, Sakura forced a smile. "Come on, Naruto, let's go back to the classroom." However, seeing the guilty look on the orange ninja's face, she let her face drop. "Is…are you okay?"

Naruto hesitated, before saying, "Um, Sakura…there's something I should tell you."

* * *

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	9. Chapter 9: Survival Test

Hi everyone, this chapter was a bit rushed because I wanted to upload one more before the summer was up. Enjoy!

* * *

Pass or Fail: Survival Test

It was two hours after noon, and the four Genin were still waiting in the empty classroom, growing more and more impatient. Naruto especially was growing restless, having been fidgeting in his chair for the past half-hour. Sitting next to him was Danny, who was doing his best to ignore his neighbor's jitters and resist the urge to snap at him. The hybrid was pretty sure that his friend would be pacing the entire length of the classroom if he was able to.

Danny's face sobered, and he glanced sideways at Naruto, wincing at the big bruise on the blonde's face. After arriving in the classroom two hours ago, Danny grew worried as he noticed that Sakura and Naruto failed to arrive yet. The first person to arrive was a furious Sakura. Danny didn't dare ask her what was wrong, as her fury seemed to fill up every crevice of the classroom, bewildering him and Sasuke. Not long after came the stumbling figure of Naruto, looking for all intents and purposes like he had just gotten half of his life pummeled out of him.

Judging by the sorrowful looks that his neighbor was giving the enraged pinkette, Danny gathered that Naruto had confessed his actions to Sakura. While the hybrid was proud of his friend (to be honest, he didn't think Naruto had the guts to tell the truth), he also felt sorry seeing how Sakura now refused to give Naruto the light of day.

"He's late," Naruto grumbled, continuing his incessant foot-tapping.

Cringing in annoyance, Danny turned to his neighbor. "Do you think you can ease up on the foot? It's getting annoying as hell."

Naruto gave him a look of exasperation. "Give me a break, man. All the other groups went off with their teachers already and even Iruka-sensei left! Don't tell me you're not annoyed that the guy's kept us waiting for two hours," he said.

Danny shrugged in agreement; he would be lying if he said he wasn't at all irritated by their teacher's lack of punctuality.

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it…" he sighed, leaning back in his seat to get comfortable. With that, silence surrounded the Genin as Naruto finally stopped tapping his foot, much to Danny's relief.

For a while, everyone continued to sit quietly, wondering at this point if anybody was coming at all. Danny closed his eyes to doze off a bit, seeing this as an opportunity to get some light rest after rising early in the morning. He felt the edges of his mind begin to be enveloped by the sweet embrace of sleep until the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat cut through his ears.

Danny snapped his eyes open, not bothering to hide the irritation on his face as he turned towards the source of the noise. He saw Sakura looking at him pointedly. Danny just looked at her confused until he noticed that the seat next to him was empty. Looking, he saw Naruto making his way to the classroom door, a dusty eraser in his hand. Knowing all too well the mischievous look on his neighbor's face, the hybrid sighed, having an idea of what was about to come.

Seeing the tall boy not moving, Sakura made her way over to Danny's side, starling the boy with her sudden appearance. "Aren't you going to do anything?" she hissed, glancing frantically at Naruto, who at this point was snickering to himself as he wedged the eraser between the door. She turned her attention to Sasuke, who was merely watching the blonde with a look of apathy.

Danny gave her look. "Should I be doing anything?"

"Yes!" Sakura said, her eye twitching. "That idiot is going to get us in trouble before we even meet the sensei!"

Danny shrugged. "If it bothers you so much, just tell him yourself."

Sakura narrowed her eyes dangerously, "No."

"Alright, then don't do anything."

Sakura was ready to give the hybrid a tirade when the sound of Naruto's screaming broke through the room, followed by the sound of two people crashing to the ground. The three Genin shot up from their positions and ran to the doorway, finding their orange teammate sprawled on top of a male Jounin with flyaway silver hair, a mask covering the entire lower half of his face. The eraser that Naruto was wedging in the doorway had landed on both shinobi, covering them in a cloud of chalk. Despite the fact that most of his face was covered by his mask and headband, everyone could clearly make out the look of exasperation on the man's face.

The three Genin stared at the scene in shock and mortification. Naruto, for his part, immediately sprang into action.

"Sorry!" Naruto shouted, jumping off of the man and dusting himself off. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that! You caught me by surprise when you opened the door!"

The silver-haired male said nothing, only picking himself up and taking a long look at the four Genin in front of him. Finally, the Jounin gave a thoughtful hum.

"Hmmm…how can I put this?" He placed a hand on his chin, searching for the words. "My first impression of this group?…You're a bunch of idiots."

With this one statement the entire group deflated as the older man continued to stare, his face conveying no emotion.

* * *

"Alright…" the older Jounin began, facing the four Genin gathered on the roof of the Academy under the clear sky. "Why don't you introduce yourselves?"

Sakura looked at him curiously. "Introduce ourselves? What should we say?" she asked.

The older man shrugged. "Likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies. Things like that."

"Hey, why don't you introduce yourself first, Sensei?" Naruto said, "Before we talk about ourselves?"

The Jounin blinked. "Me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I don't feel like telling you my likes and dislikes," the man paused his introduction as he went lost in thought, "Dreams for the future? Hmm…haven't really thought about it. As for my hobbies…I have few."

_'Well, that's certainly a lot to take in,'_ Danny thought sarcastically.

Kakashi gestured with his hands towards the group. "Alright, your turn. You first," he indicated to Naruto, who jumped at the opportunity.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" the blonde began eagerly. "I like cup ramen, but I like the ramen at Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei buys for me even more! I hate the three minutes that I have to wait to prepare the ramen, and my hobby is to eat and compare cup ramens!"

_'Is he even aware that he's only talking about ramen?'_ Danny wondered but smiled at Naruto's next statement.

"And my dream is to become the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and recognize my existence!"

Kakashi briefly widened his eye at that. _'He grew up in an interesting way,'_ he mused, then moved on to Sakura. "Okay, next."

"I'm Sakura Haruno!" the pink-haired kunoichi greeted cheerily, "I like…well the person I like…" She stole several glances at Sasuke, a blush growing as she continued. Looking back and forth between the Jounin and her crush, she finished with a quiet squeal.

Kakashi stared at her blankly before continuing, "And? What do you hate?"

At this, the kunoichi gained a look of anger and disgust. "Naruto!" she spat vehemently, causing the blonde ninja to withdraw in sadness. Seeing this, Danny shot the kunoichi a glare which Sakura leveled with her own glare.

Ignoring the tension in the group, Kakashi sighed and signaled, "Next guy."

Sasuke paused for moment. The other three Genin stopped their behavior and brought their attention to the Uchiha.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke said, a hardened edge appearing in his eyes, "There are many things that I hate, and I don't particularly like anything." At this, Sakura deflated a little. "Also, I have an ambition that I have no intention to leave as a dream. I'm going to restore my clan…and kill a certain man."

The awkward silence that followed seemed to stretch indefinitely. Danny stared at the dark-haired Genin cautiously; he knew that the Uchiha had a lot of pent-up anger, but the cold, hard look in those onyx eyes agitated him. That was a look he saw on Vlad during their most brutal fights—the look of someone who would willingly go to hell to have their revenge.

Kakashi studied Sasuke very carefully, mentally taking note, before he turned to the last remaining preteen. "Alright, last guy."

Danny, having been pulled from his musings, grew a little awkward. He was never one to enjoy being the center of attention. "My name is Daniel Fenton—you can just call me Danny. I like astronomy, and I hate people who try to hurt my friends." With a hard look, he continued, "My hobbies are stargazing and building stuff. My dreams for the future…" Danny paused. "…I honestly don't know at this point."

Kakashi stared at the raven-haired teen for a minute. _'He's good at hiding his emotions,"_ he observed, before turning to the rest of the group and noticing how the orange ninja was staring at the raven-haired with concern. Taking note, Kakashi then addressed the group. "Alright, you each have unique personalities, I like that. We're going to begin a mission starting tomorrow."

Naruto immediately became excited and asked, "What kind of mission are we going to have?!"

"It's a task that the four of us can do together," Kakashi stated with crossed arms.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, barely containing himself in his seat, the other three Genin giving curious looks as well.

After a moment, Kakashi said, "Survival training."

This earned four looks of confusion from the group. "Survival training?" Naruto repeated, puzzled.

Sakura gave the older man a frown. "I thought that we were going to have a real mission. Why are we doing more training? We already did this stuff at the Academy." The thought of spending more days doing drills wasn't appealing.

"This is no ordinary training," Kakashi said.

"Then, what kind of training is it?" Naruto inquired, a note of hesitation in his voice.

To the surprise of the four Genin, the older Jounin began to laugh, snickering sinisterly. Danny narrowed his eyes in irritation. _'What's this guy's deal?'_

Sakura wasn't amused either. "Hey, what's so funny, Sensei?"

Getting in a few last laughs, Kakashi sang with an amused expression, "Well, if I tell you, you're not going to like it."

Danny got a deadpanned look. _'That's his deal, he's a troll,'_ he concluded bitterly.

"Huh?"

"Of the 28 graduates, only 10 are going to become Genins. The other 18 will be sent back to the Academy," Kakashi explained. "In other words, this is a make-it-or-break-it test, with your chances of passing being at least 66%." He received looks of shock and disbelief, much to his delight. "See? Didn't I say you wouldn't like it?"

"That's crazy!" Naruto exclaimed. "I went through so much trouble! What was that final exam for?!"

"Oh, that? It just picks out those who are qualified to become a Genin."

"Whaat?!"

Kakashi continued unperturbed. "That's how it is. I decide whether you pass or fail tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring your ninja equipment and meet at 5 AM."

Everyone's nerves immediately went haywire. Naruto was shaking uncontrollably, anxious to prove that he was worthy of being a ninja. Sakura had her fists clenched, determined not to be separated from her crush. Sasuke tensed with a look of cold determination, his hands clenched and slightly trembling.

In stark contrast, Danny was barely agitated, instead seeming to be in deep thought. Granted, he knew that the entire stake of his residence was hanging on the results of this test, but he couldn't help but wonder…

Did he really need to pass? The Hokage allowed him to stay in Konoha on the condition that he sign up as a shinobi, but that was it, wasn't it? He didn't have to rise through the ranks, he just needed to be one. If he flunked out of this test…sure, it would mean repeating a year at the Academy, but it wouldn't matter since he didn't want to be a shinobi in the first place. Maybe he could help the others pass instead.

Noticing the raven-haired boy's lack of agitation, Kakashi decided to investigate it some other time. Turning around, he finished, "Meeting's over. Oh, and tomorrow you better skip breakfast. Or else you'll puke."

The looks he got were priceless.

* * *

The morning was silent, save for the sound of a few early birds twittering without a care. The entire training ground was bathed in the purple and blue hues of dawn. The four arriving Genin made their way towards the center of the field, trudging under the slowly brightening sky. Danny and Naruto arrived together, both preteens looking half-asleep as they stumbled to meet the others.

"Morning…" Sakura yawned, getting only quiet grunts as greeting.

The four faced away from each other, waiting…and waiting. Throughout the period the sky changed from its dull indigo to a clear blue, the sun now shining down on the four shinobi. Naruto abandoned standing up and opted to sit down, leaning against Danny while he caught a few more Z's. The four Genin continued to wait for their teacher, allowing another hour to pass. By this point, Sakura had also chosen to sit down on the grass, while Danny just sat on his backpack, trying to control his rising irritation. He was just about ready to leave when…

"Morning, everyone. Ready for your first day?"

Sakura and Naruto immediately pounced, pointing accusing fingers and glaring daggers at the silver-haired Jounin.

"You're LATE!" they both yelled. Sakura shot the blonde a glare, causing him to flinch.

Danny shot Kakashi an annoyed glare, not even bothering to hide the amount of annoyance he felt. "What happened to 5 AM?" he questioned irately.

The teacher gave him a seemingly innocent look. "Well, a black cat crossed my path, so I had to go around the long way," he answered matter-of-factly.

"For two hours?"

Kakashi cleared his throat and decided to ignore the preteen. "Let's move on…" The four Genin watched as he walked to one of the wooden pillars situated in the field and placed a timer on the middle one. He clicked the switch at the top, starting the countdown. "Here we go. The alarm is set for 12 PM."

The four preteens continued to watch with bemused expressions until a quiet series of jingles caught their attention. Looking at their teacher, they saw him waving three round, silver bells attached to red strings. "Today's topic," he continued, "is to get one of these bells from me. That's all there is to it." Adding another jingle for effect, he added, "Whoever can't get one by noon will have no lunch."

"What?!"

Ignoring Naruto's outburst, he gestured to the pillars, "I'm going to tie you there, and eat lunch in front of you."

Sasuke had a grim expression on his face. _'So that's why he said…'_

_'…don't eat breakfast,'_ Sakura thought dismally.

_'This guy is a sadist,'_ Danny thought with a sour expression. Amazingly, Naruto remained silent, wearing a look of pure suffering.

Sakura snapped out of her bleak mindset when she noticed an inaccuracy. "But wait," she began, "why are there only three bells?"

Kakashi only smiled at that. "Since there's only three, at least one will have to be tied to the log. That person will fail since they failed to complete the mission. That person will go back to the Academy." Faces grew serious as the Genin processed this information. The four kept rapt attention as the older man continued. "It might be just one, or all four of you. You can use any weapons, including shuriken. You won't be able to get these unless you have the will to kill me."

Danny frowned. Wasn't that taking it too far? The other three probably didn't have a problem, but he wasn't going to kill anybody, practice test or not. He was _not_ a killer.

Sakura was along the same lines. "But that's too dangerous, Sensei!" she protested.

"Yeah!" Naruto added, before smirking, "You didn't even see me when you opened the classroom door!"

Kakashi deadpanned at the blonde's statement. "You did that by accident, which you caused with your own stupidity," the Jounin sighed as he shook his head, "You can safely ignore the guys with the lowest scores. Losers."

_'Oh crap.'_ Danny glanced at Naruto, who was growling and looking murderous.

Having said all necessary points, Kakashi began to wrap up the briefing. "When I say 'start', you can begin—"

The last statement fell on deaf ears for Naruto. His hand shot into his pouch and withdrew a kunai, the words _'Loser. Loser. Loser.'_ chanting in his head. With an animalistic growl, he brandished his weapon and charged at Kakashi with ferocity. Danny's eyes widened, and he tried to stop his teammate.

"Wait, hold on—!"

His intervention wasn't needed. In a split second, Kakashi stopped Naruto's assault and twisted the blonde's equipped arm so that the kunai faced the back of the Genin's head. The position reminded Danny of when he was apprehended by the Black-Ops during his arrival. "Don't get so hasty," Kakashi reprimanded. "Your teammate was probably going to tell you that I didn't say 'start', yet."

Danny took a few steps back, surprised by the awesome feat. _'He's fast…That was pretty damn cool, though.'_ Next to him, his teammates shared similar thoughts.

Kakashi released Naruto from his grip, the latter still seeming to process what had happened. He turned to the group. "But, it looks like you have the will to kill me now," he said, then finished with a wink, "I think I can finally start liking you guys."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura gave appreciative smirks while Danny rolled his eyes. After a short pause, Kakashi announced, "Get ready…and, start!"

* * *

Kakashi assessed the empty clearing. Immediately after giving the go-ahead, the four Genin jumped in different directions, hiding in the security of the forest. Danny decided to go the extra mile and turn invisible in his hiding spot, keeping an eye on Kakashi as the older ninja continued to survey the grounds.

The hybrid narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Jounin. There was no way he could beat the guy just using the skills he learned at the Academy, and he didn't think it was a good idea to reveal his arsenal of ghost powers to everyone. He could probably get away with using two basic ghost powers, but he would rather avoid it as much as he can. He didn't want to raise any unnecessary suspicions in the other team members. Their best bet of getting a bell was to devise some sort of strategy.

Very carefully, Danny moved through the trees, making sure not too create too much noise. He had managed to move a few meters through the forest when the sound of someone moving through the brush sent him on high alert. Danny scanned his surroundings and caught a hint of orange moving through the forest, and a sinister smirk grew on his face. Approaching Naruto very carefully from behind, Danny trailed the blonde, who remained oblivious to the hybrid's presence.

"How's it going?" Danny asked cheerfully. Immediately, he had to slap a hand over Naruto's mouth, preventing the blonde's scream from ringing out and giving away their position, all the while trying to keep himself from busting a gut in laughter. "Relax, it's just me," Danny said, failing to keep the mirth out of his voice, and turning visible.

If looks could kill, Danny would become a full ghost right then and there; Naruto was beyond pissed. "You bastard!" he half-whispered, half-yelled. "You could have ruined our chances of passing this test!"

"Okay, okay, sorry," Danny apologized lightheartedly, not appeasing the blonde's anger. "What were you doing by the way?"

Naruto's anger fell away in an instant, replaced by embarrassment, and he shifted his gaze away from Danny. "I…was going to…challenge him to a fight," he replied lamely.

Danny took a long look at his neighbor. "…Uh-huh, and you're giving me crap about blowing the test?"

"What else am I supposed to do?" Naruto snapped, raising his arms and frowning at Danny, "I can't just sit around and hide all day while everyone else gets a bell!"

"I'm not saying that," Danny said, "I'm saying that you have a better chance of getting a bell if we work together."

Naruto dropped his position, looking at Danny with a mixture of concern and confusion. "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me," Danny said, crossing his arms. "For now, let's figure something out."

* * *

Kakashi continued to scrutinize the area, silently commending the Genin for being able to hide so well in their surroundings. An important principle for a shinobi is to blend into the shadows and conceal their movements, a principle that they seemed to grasp under Iruka's tutelage.

"Let's have a match fair and square!" rang an excited voice in the middle of the clearing.

Well, most of them.

Kakashi's face filled with disbelief as he turned around to see Naruto standing confidently in front of him, completely exposed. The Jounin studied the orange ninja for a moment before commenting, "You know, compared to the others, you're a little bit…weird."

Naruto snorted. "What's weird is your hair style!" he said, then gave a battle cry as he began to charge at the Jounin. Kakashi only watched blankly, then slowly reached into his pouch.

Catching the movement, Naruto immediately retreated one step, maintaining a safe distance between them. He glared suspiciously, poised for whatever may happen.

"Ninja tactic know-how number one…" Kakashi began to lecture, "Taijutsu, the physical part." He started to pull something from his pouch.

Naruto was bewildered. _'Isn't taijutsu how a ninja fights hand-to-hand without weapons? But why is he going to use a weapon?'_ The blonde only tensed as he waited for what would happen while shooting a few looks around the field. In one swift motion, Kakashi produced a bright orange book, opening it at a reserved page.

Naruto was completely thrown back by this action and stood motionless in bewilderment.

"What's the matter? Come and get me," Kakashi called when Naruto just stood frozen on the spot.

The blonde continued to stand motionless. "But…Why did you take out a book?"

Eyes poring over the page, Kakashi replied, "Why? I got curious as to how the story is going to develop. Don't worry about it. With your weak attacks, it's the same whether I read this or not."

A vein popped in the blonde's head, and he hissed threateningly, but he willed himself not to react, instead looking around the field_. 'You better be ready, Danny, 'cause I'm going to kick this guy's ass!'_ he thought before running at the Jounin again.

Danny watched as Kakashi blocked Naruto's punch and other set of hits, slowly making his way towards the fight, trying to get closer to Kakashi. It was difficult, since the Jounin was constantly moving and on alert, which was amazing considering how much he was invested in his book.

Eventually, Kakashi managed to sidestep Naruto and get directly behind him, forming a hand sign as the blonde tried to process what was happening. "Don't let your enemy get behind you," he lectured.

From his hiding spot in the trees, Sasuke narrowed his eyes from his position. _'That seal is used for Fire elements. He's not just toying with Naruto, he's going to demolish him.'_

Danny's eyes widened. _'I've got to act now!'_ he thought, and the hybrid shot forward and wrapped his hand around the bells, giving a hard pull—

Only for Kakashi to explode in a cloud of smoke. The surprise and explosion caused Danny to yelp and tumble back, losing his invisibility in the process. From their hiding spots, Sasuke and Sakura were in shock, wondering what happened and from where their tall teammate had appeared from. Picking himself up, Danny looked to see that Kakashi was gone, with only a bewildered Naruto staring back at him.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, running over to his neighbor.

"He knew I was coming," Danny said gruffly, picking himself up.

"Yep," came a reply, causing the two preteens to spin around and find Kakashi standing with a cheery look on his face. "I didn't realize it until midway through the fight, though. A word of advice, when you're acting as a distraction, don't give away your teammate's position with your eyes. Otherwise, not bad," he finished with a happy shrug.

The three shinobi just stood for a minute, staring at each other. "So, now what?" Naruto asked.

"Now, we move things along," Kakashi said, and in a flash he appeared next to Naruto and gave a punch that sent the blonde into the nearby river. Danny's eyes widened and he jumped back, missing Kakashi's kick and putting distance between them.

Kakashi merely studied Danny for a moment, seeming deep in thought. "Hmm, while we wait for this guy to come out of the river, I want to see something," he said.

In an instant, the older ninja ran forward and gave a swift punch to Danny. The raven-haired yelled in surprise but quickly recovered to catch the punch. Danny picked up an incoming kick in his peripheral vision; still holding Kakashi's fist backflipped to dodge, locking Kakashi's arm in the process.

The older ninja looked impressed. _'Kid's astute. Let's see how long he can keep this up for.'_

Kakashi twisted his body out of the arm lock and followed up with a few quick blows, most of which the teen was able to block and dodge swiftly. While Danny was distracted with a hard punch, Kakashi took the opportunity to follow up with another punch to the preteen's jaw, not noticing the leg that swung around and booted him in the chest. The two combatants stumbled backwards from each other's hits, regaining their composure.

Kakashi caught his breath and rubbed his chest, slightly winded by the kick. Iruka wasn't lying when he said the kid was at the top of his class in taijutsu. Looking at the tall Genin, however, he could see that his own punch did more to the student than what the kick did to him. The kid did have power in his strikes, but not as much as someone at his level could dish out.

From their positions, both Sakura and Sasuke were stunned. _'Wow, Danny managed to get a hit on Sensei!' _Sakura thought with a smile,_ 'It's incredible that he was able to keep up with him…'_

Sasuke gave a small smirk despite himself. In all honesty, he'd been annoyed that some scrawny new-show was able to upstage him in terms of hand-to-hand combat, but he got over it when he saw it was just one of the few things the guy was good at. Besides, compared to ninjutsu, taijutsu could only take you so far.

Back on the field, Danny gasped roughly as he regained control of his breath and got ready for another assault when two shuriken shot out of the water towards Kakashi. The spinning blades curved gracefully through the air and were stopped when Kakashi caught the two by their openings, unfazed. The two ninjas watched as a drenched Naruto crawled out of the river, coughing.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, seeing the opportunity to rile up the boy, "You won't get any lunch if you don't get a bell by noon."

"I already know!" Naruto shouted, incensed.

"You look pretty wobbly for someone who's going to surpass the Hokage." At this, Naruto and Danny's stomach gave a huge growl.

"You told us not to eat breakfast! How can I fight when I'm starving to death?!" Naruto shouted.

The other two concealed ninjas could only moan as their stomachs growled at that hard truth, reminding them of their famine.

_'Breakfast? I didn't even have dinner last night! Should not have tried to go on a diet…'_ Sakura bemoaned.

Naruto continued on his tirade. "So you caught us off guard! That's it, dattebayo!" Feeling the painful rumbles in his stomach, he muttered, "Damn, I'm so hungry, I don't have any strength…but I have to get a bell no matter what."

Kakashi continued to lecture the blonde. "The fact that you're starving should only make you want to conserve your strength, not waste it all with excessive attacks." He turned to Danny. "As for you, your fighting skills far surpass that of a Genin, but you can't expect your punches to be effective when you're all skin and bones."

Danny felt his eye twitch and he straightened up. As if he hadn't heard that enough times already. "I'm stronger than I look," he argued.

"Yes, but you'll be stronger if you gained more muscle. And you wouldn't have to throw so many punches and waste so much energy, like right now," Kakashi said, giving an eye-smile that irritated the hybrid. "But enough of that. So now, both you and Class Clown over here are tired and your plan didn't work out. What are you going to do?"

Hearing the Jounin's words, Naruto's body flared with determination. All the trials, burdens, and hard work he went through…he wasn't going to have it go to waste. He would fight to the very end to prove that he was worthy of being a ninja, of being Hokage. "I'll find the strength to pass this test," he affirmed, catching Kakashi's attention. "I'm not going back to the Academy. I _will_ become a ninja."

At his proclamation, seven splashes burst out of the river, and soon the air was filled with multiple Narutos. Danny smiled; his neighbor continued to astound him with the amount of determination he possessed. The seven Narutos flew threw the air, each one with identical looks of confidence.

"Security is your greatest enemy! This is my best technique, the mass shadow replication!" one of them shouted as they soared.

Sakura looked stunned at the scene. _'There's seven Narutos?'_ To her surprise, Sakura saw that the blondes began to run on the ground, kicking up dust as they made their way towards the older Jounin. _'What? They're not afterimages, they're all real!'_ Similarly, Sasuke looked astonished at the grand feat.

Kakashi too noticed the solidity of the clones as they charged towards him. "It looks like the stories are true, he _can_ create shadow clones," he muttered. When he heard the story from Iruka, he felt the overwhelming pride the Chunin felt at his student having mastered such a high-class technique.

_'Though…despite it being his best technique, he can only keep it up for a minute. Even if he talks big, Naruto is still Naruto.'_ Kakashi faced the oncoming Genins, saying, "Great technique, but you can't get me with that jutsu—!" To his shock, he felt another body grab him from behind, restricting his movements. "What? From behind?!" Shock filled everyone's faces except for Danny, who saw the clone emerge to grab their teacher from behind. Danny couldn't help but feel immense satisfaction at the look of surprise on Kakashi's face.

The orange-clad ninja smirked. "A ninja shouldn't let the enemy get behind him, right, Kakashi-sensei? I had one shadow replication come out from the lower part of the river and sneak up behind you!"

Danny smiled, "Nice."

The rest of the orange battalion swarmed Kakashi, grabbing his legs and arms while one dove straight towards the Jounin with a punch ready. "I'm going to pay you back for throwing me into the river!" he shouted.

Despite the fact that she was furious with the blonde, Sakura had to admit that she underestimated Naruto's skill set, though she did so grudgingly.

Sasuke smiled from his spot. _'A feint operation, eh?'_ Apparently the doofus was smarter than he looked.

Meanwhile, Danny continued to watch when a realization struck him. _'I can grab a bell with all this action going on!'_ Narrowing his eyes in determination, the raven-haired turned invisible and sprinted towards the cluster, making sure to keep out of the way of the orange clones as he zeroed in on the swaying bells hanging from the Jounin's belt. With one final thrust, he propelled himself forward, his hand reaching out as his fingers once again closed around the cool metal…

…only to feel cloth. The taller Genin didn't have much time to process what happened as two equally befuddled Narutos plowed on top of him. Apparently, Naruto ended up hitting one of his clones.

Sakura gained a confused look. _'The one who got hit was…Naruto?' _

The Naruto that gave the punch looked lost. "You…," his face turned enraged. "You must be Kakashi-sensei! You transformed, didn't you?!"

Danny's eyes widened as he saw the blondes move forward to start assaulting each other. Shoving the two Narutos off of him (earning a few protests as he did so), the hybrid quickly got up and shouted, "Stop!"

Immediately, all the clones halted in their tracks. "What are you doing?" A Naruto shouted in shock. "That teacher could be any one of these guys!"

After scrutinizing the area, Danny turned to Naruto with a serious frown. "Then dispel the clones to see which one he's posing as."

A blank look crossed Naruto's face. "Oh, right." The clones disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving only Danny and Naruto standing.

Naruto was growing hysterical. "What? Where did he go?"

Danny assessed what happened. "He must have used the replacement technique." He continued to explain as Naruto looked at him befuddled. "He let himself get caught and switched out at the last minute. He used your own attack against you." He frowned. _'And he probably figured that I would try to snag the bells while he was distracted. Man, this guy is like five steps ahead of us.'_

The blonde gained a furious look at how easily he was tricked. "Augh, wait until I see that guy, I'm going to sock his stupid—!"

Danny turned to him. "Look, if you let yourself go nuts, you won't be able to think straight and you won't get a bell by noon. We should regroup in the forest and think of another strategy to take him down."

Naruto's face remained stubborn. He knew his friend was right, he needed to save his strength if he wanted to get a bell, but didn't Kakashi already see though one of their plans? What was the point in coming up with another strategy? Disgruntled, Naruto turned towards the forest, about to get going, when a gleam caught his eye. His eyes traveled to the ground where, in plain sight, was one of the round silver bells. At this, a huge grin spread through Naruto's face as his eyes grew wide.

"Dude! We don't need to come up with another plan! He dropped one of them!" he cheered and made a beeline for the silver instrument, not questioning his ridiculous luck. Danny's eyes widened, seeing what his neighbor was getting into.

"Don't! It's probably a—!" His suspicions were confirmed as he watched his neighbor bungee-jump through the air by the tree, having been snagged by a snare trap. "…trap," he finished. Hearing a hum, Danny turned to see Kakashi emerge from behind the tree, picking up the bell from right underneath the blonde.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he assessed the situation. _'That Jounin doesn't let his guard down, even when he's fighting a fool like Naruto.'_ He doubted he would have enough time to get past Kakashi's defenses by the time noon came.

Kakashi flipped the bell back into his palm with a seemingly benign look. "Use your techniques after thinking carefully, or else your opponent might use them against you. Oh, and don't fall for an obvious trap, stupid."

That made the blonde blow his top. From his place Danny could feel the waves of murderous intent radiating off his neighbor. Kakashi didn't seem to notice, only continuing his lecture.

"Ninjas need to think beyond the normal," he stated.

"I already know! I get it!" the blonde yelled, his body swaying hysterically as he tried to get down.

"I'm telling you this because you don't get it. Your movements are filled with unnecessary motions," the sensei scolded, then turned to Danny. "Good move, making a grab for the bells. It probably would've worked if I hadn't already substituted a replacement." Danny didn't say anything; honestly, he was too frustrated at being out-smarted twice to appreciate the praise.

"Oi! Why don't you nag at him too!" Naruto said.

"That's because he's the only one using his head so far," Kakashi reproached, turning around to face Naruto again. His statement led the Genin to become confused at what he meant.

Amid his confusion, Sasuke's eyes widened in realization as he saw the turned figure of Kakashi. _'Now's my chance!' _Taking out several shuriken and kunai, he swiped his arms outwards, throwing the barrage of weapons at the Jounin. As he watched the projectiles move through the air, alarm grew in his onyx-colored eyes.

Two of the weapons were heading towards Danny, whose back was turned as well. His aim had been a little off.

_'Oh shit!'_

A whistling sound registered on Danny's ears. Turning around, he saw the spinning projectiles streak towards him. "Shit!" he screamed, immediately going intangible. The two shuriken passed through him like air, shocking the Uchiha.

Danny turned to see the two shuriken on the ground and felt his blood boil. He turned around, ready to give the Uchiha a huge tongue-lashing, when a squelching sound and high-pitched scream made him stop. Turning around, his ice-blue eyes widened as he saw his sensei fall down, the barrage of weapons littering the Jounin's side as blood streamed out.

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